title: Nurses' Health Study Contributions on the Epidemiology of Less Common Cancers: Endometrial, Ovarian, Pancreatic, and Hematologic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the contributions of the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) to epidemiologic knowledge of endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, and hematologic cancers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed selected NHS publications from 1976 to 2016, including publications from consortia and other pooled studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  NHS studies on less common cancers have identified novel risk factors, such as a reduced risk of endometrial cancer in women of advanced age at last birth, and have clarified or prospectively confirmed previously reported associations, including an inverse association between tubal ligation and ovarian cancer. Through biomarker research, the NHS has furthered understanding of the pathogenesis of rare cancers, such as the role of altered metabolism in pancreatic cancer risk and survival. NHS investigations have also demonstrated the importance of the timing of exposure, such as the finding of a positive association of early life body fatness, but not of usual adult body mass index, with non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evidence from the NHS has informed prevention strategies and contributed to improved survival from less common but often lethal malignancies, including endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, and hematologic cancers.
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Brenda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Birmann
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Mollie E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Barnard
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bertrand
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crous-Bou
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Brian M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Wolpin
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Immaculata
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Vivo
authors.affiliation: Brenda M. Birmann, Ying Bao, Marta Crous-Bou, Immaculata De Vivo, and Shelley S. Tworoger are with the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Mollie E. Barnard is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston. Kimberly A. Bertrand is with the Slone Epidemiology Center, Boston University, Boston. Brian M. Wolpin is with the Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
authors.forename: Shelley S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Tworoger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016387:Women's Health