title: Genital use of talc and risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Some epidemiological studies suggest an association between genital use of talc powders and increased risk of ovarian cancer, but the evidence is not consistent. We performed a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies to formally evaluate this suspected association. A systematic search was conducted in Medline, Embase, and Scopus, leading to the identification of 24 case-control studies and three cohort studies. In the meta-analysis, we used a random-effect model to calculate summary estimates of the association between genital use of talc and occurrence of ovarian cancer. We assessed potential sources of between-study heterogeneity and presence of publication bias. The summary relative risk (RR) for ever use of genital talc and ovarian cancer was 1.22 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13-1.30]. The RR for case-control studies was 1.26 (95% CI: 1.17-1.35) and for cohort studies was 1.02 (95% CI: 0.85-1.20, Pheterogeneity=0.007). Serous carcinoma was the only histologic type for which an association was detected (RR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.15-1.34). There was a weak trend in RR with duration and frequency of genital talc use. This meta-analysis resulted in a weak but statistically significant association between genital use of talc and ovarian cancer, which appears to be limited to serous carcinoma with suggestion of dose-response. The heterogeneity of results by study design however, detracts from a causal interpretation of this association.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Wera
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Berge
authors.affiliation: Ramboll Environ, Amherst, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mundt
authors.affiliation: University of South Florida College of Public Health, Tampa, Florida.
authors.forename: Hung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luu
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Tisch Cancer Institute, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boffetta
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013627:Talc / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D013627:Talc