Schildkraut JM

Purpose of reviewOnly recently has it become clear that epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is comprised of such distinct histotypes--with different cells of origin, morphology, molecular features, epidemiologic factors, clinical features, and …

BackgroundSmoking is a risk factor for mucinous ovarian cancer (OvCa) in Caucasians. Whether a similar association exists in African Americans (AA) is unknown.MethodsWe conducted a population-based case-control study of incident OvCa in AA …

With recent ovarian cancer screening studies showing no clinically significant mortality benefit, preventing this disease, identifying high-risk populations, and extending survival remain priorities. However, several challenges are impeding…

Chronic inflammation has been implicated in the development of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC); yet the contribution of inflammatory foods and nutrients to EOC risk has been understudied. We investigated the association between the dietary …

Background: Comorbidities can affect survival of ovarian cancer patients by influencing treatment efficacy. However, little evidence exists on the association between individual concurrent comorbidities and prognosis in ovarian cancer patie…

To identify common alleles associated with different histotypes of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), we pooled data from multiple genome-wide genotyping projects totaling 25,509 EOC cases and 40,941 controls. We identified nine new susceptib…

PurposeIncessant ovulation has been consistently linked to epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Although reproductive characteristics differ substantially by race, the association between incessant ovulation and EOC has been evaluated only in p…

PurposeOver the past decade, a number of consortia have formed to further investigate genetic associations, pathogenesis, and epidemiologic risk and prognostic factors for ovarian cancer. Here, we review the benefits that ovarian cancer con…

Inflammation has been implicated in ovarian carcinogenesis. However, studies investigating the association between pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and ovarian cancer risk are few and inconsistent. We investigated the association between P…

Although the inverse association between hysterectomy and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) was considered well established, investigators in recent studies including women diagnosed after 2000 have observed modest increases in risk. Most stu…

PurposeTubal ligation has been associated with reduced risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) in studies of primarily white women, but less is known about the association in African American (AA) women. We sought to evaluate the associatio…

BackgroundExisting literature examining analgesic medication use and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk has been inconsistent, with the majority of studies reporting an inverse association. Race-specific effects of this relationship have …

Menopausal estrogen-alone therapy (ET) is a well-established risk factor for serous and endometrioid ovarian cancer. Genetics also plays a role in ovarian cancer, which is partly attributable to 18 confirmed ovarian cancer susceptibility lo…

BACKGROUND: Many epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk factors relate to hormone exposure and elevated estrogen levels are associated with obesity in postmenopausal women. Therefore, we hypothesized that gene-environment interactions related…

BackgroundRegulatory T (Treg) cells, a subset of CD4+ T lymphocytes, are mediators of immunosuppression in cancer, and, thus, variants in genes encoding Treg cell immune molecules could be associated with ovarian cancer.MethodsIn a populati…

BackgroundEpidemiologic studies indicate increased ovarian cancer risk among women who use genital powder, but this has not been thoroughly investigated in African American (AA) women, a group with a high prevalence of use. We evaluate the …

ObjectiveTo describe the association between postmenopausal estrogen-only therapy use and risk of ovarian carcinoma, specifically with regard to disease histotype and duration and timing of use.MethodsWe conducted a pooled analysis of 906 w…

BackgroundIn vitro and observational epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D may play a role in cancer prevention. However, the relationship between vitamin D and ovarian cancer is uncertain, with observational studies generating con…

BackgroundDespite a large body of literature evaluating the association between recreational physical activity and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk, the extant evidence is inconclusive, and little is known about the independent associat…

ObjectiveClinical genetic testing is commercially available for rs61764370, an inherited variant residing in a KRAS 3' UTR microRNA binding site, based on suggested associations with increased ovarian and breast cancer risk as well as with …

Previously developed models for predicting absolute risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer have included a limited number of risk factors and have had low discriminatory power (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC…

BackgroundOvarian cancer, the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, typically comes to clinical attention due to nonspecific gastrointestinal or pelvic symptoms. African Americans with ovarian cancer have a greater mortality burden than white…

Disruption in circadian gene expression, whether due to genetic variation or environmental factors (e.g., light at night, shiftwork), is associated with increased incidence of breast, prostate, gastrointestinal and hematologic cancers and g…

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 12 epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) susceptibility alleles. The pattern of association at these loci is consistent in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers who are at high risk of EOC. After…

BACKGROUND: In U.S. women, lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1.37%, but some women are at a substantially lower or higher risk than this average. METHODS: We have characterized the distribution of lifetime risk in the general population. P…