Shelley S. Tworoger

Recently, ovarian cancer research has evolved considerably because of the emerging recognition that rather than a single disease, ovarian carcinomas comprise several different histotypes that vary by etiologic origin, risk factors, molecula…

Oral contraceptives (OCs) have been associated with long-term lower endometrial cancer risk; relatively little is known about associations with more recent OC formulations and associations with longer-term risk. A total of 107,069 women fro…

A lack of prospective studies has been a major barrier for assessing the role of the microbiome in human health and disease on a population-wide scale. To address this significant knowledge gap, we have launched a large-scale collection tar…

BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with higher risk of certain chronic diseases, including ovarian cancer, but underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Although prior work has linked menopausal hormone therapy (MHT)…

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence, including multiple putative inflammatory risk factors (e.g., c-reactive protein, and adiposity), supports that inflammation plays an important role in ovarian carcinogenesis. Resistance training (RT) is asso…

IMPORTANCE: Breastfeeding has been associated with a reduced risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in multiple studies, but others showed no association. Whether risk reduction extends beyond that provided by pregnancy alone or differs by histo…

BACKGROUND: Experimental evidence supports a role of lipid dysregulation in ovarian cancer progression. We estimated associations with ovarian cancer risk for circulating levels of four lipid groups, previously hypothesized to be associated…

Reproductive events, such as ovulation, trigger an inflammatory cascade. Few studies have examined their long-term influence on inflammatory profiles. We included 3,393 premenopausal and 3,915 postmenopausal women with intact ovaries/uterus…

BACKGROUND: Differential associations between ovarian cancer risk factors and estrogen receptor-α (ERα) ovarian tumor expression have been noted; however, no research has assessed estrogen receptor-β (ERβ) expression. Thus, in exploratory a…

BACKGROUND: Epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers have shared developmental pathways. Few studies have prospectively examined heterogeneity in risk factor associations across these three anatomic sites. METHODS…

BACKGROUND: Laterality of epithelial ovarian tumors may reflect the underlying carcinogenic pathways and origins of tumor cells. METHODS: We pooled data from 9 prospective studies participating in the Ovarian Cancer Cohort Consortium. Info…

Repeated exposure to the acute proinflammatory environment that follows ovulation at the ovarian surface and distal fallopian tube over a woman's reproductive years may increase ovarian cancer risk. To address this, analyses included indivi…

As a follow-up to genome-wide association analysis of common variants associated with ovarian carcinoma (cancer), our study considers seven well-known ovarian cancer risk factors and their interactions with 28 genome-wide significant common…

BACKGROUND: Aspirin use is associated with reduced risk of several cancers. A pooled analysis of 12 case-control studies showed a 10% decrease in ovarian cancer risk with regular aspirin use, which was stronger for daily and low-dose users.…

BACKGROUND: Cancer Antigen 125 (CA125) is currently the best available ovarian cancer screening biomarker. However, CA125 has been limited by low sensitivity and specificity in part due to normal variation between individuals. Personal char…

Growing epidemiologic evidence supports chronic inflammation as a mechanism of ovarian carcinogenesis. An association between a circulating marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP), and ovarian cancer risk has been consistently obse…

Ovarian cancer risk factors differ by histotype; however, within subtype, there is substantial variability in outcomes. We hypothesized that risk factor profiles may influence tumor aggressiveness, defined by time between diagnosis and deat…

BACKGROUND: Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is the most promising ovarian cancer screening biomarker to date. Multiple studies reported CA125 levels vary by personal characteristics, which could inform personalized CA125 thresholds. However, thi…

Abstract Background: Cancer antigen 125 (CA125) is a membrane-bound glycosylated mucin that has been reported to be the most promising biomarker for ovarian cancer screening, although results from two large randomized trials comparing scree…

IMPORTANCE: Ovarian cancer is a highly fatal malignant neoplasm with few modifiable risk factors. Case-control studies have reported a modest reduced risk of ovarian cancer among women who frequently use aspirin or regularly use low-dose as…

BACKGROUND: Randomized trials using the biomarker cancer antigen (CA) 125, with or without pelvic ultrasound, have failed to show a clear benefit of general population screening for ovarian cancer. In part, this may be due to a lack of info…

Background: One model of ovarian cancer development model divides tumors into two types. Type I tumors are characterized by KRAS and BRAF mutations, which can activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Type II tumors are characterize…

Given the current lack of effective screening for ovarian cancer, surgical removal of at-risk tissue is the most successful strategy to decrease risk of cancer development. However, the optimal timing of surgery and tissues to remove, as we…

Despite established sex differences and longstanding hypotheses of sex hormone influence in the etiology of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), we have found no studies that evaluated type of menopause and age at menopause, which affect postmeno…