Shelley S. Tworoger

PURPOSE: High lactose intake has been suggested to increase epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) risk. We evaluated the association between lactose consumed during specific life periods (high school, premenopause, and postmenopause) and later ri…

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a heterogeneous cancer with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Variants influencing the risk of developing the less-common EOC subtypes have not been fully investigated. We performed a genome-wid…

PURPOSE: Menstrual pain is associated with increased production of inflammatory molecules, such as prostaglandins. Inflammation is involved in pathogenesis of several cancers, including ovarian cancer. In this study, we examined the associa…

OBJECTIVE: To examine single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in MUC16 (CA125) and MUC1 (CA15.3) in relation to ovarian cancer risk and survival. METHODS: We genotyped germline variants of MUC16 (rs2547065, rs1559168, rs12984471, rs2121133) …

A missense single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the immune modulatory gene IL1A has been associated with ovarian cancer risk (rs17561). Although the exact mechanism through which this SNP alters risk of ovarian cancer is not clearly unde…

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively examine whether the association between tubal ligation, hysterectomy, unilateral oophorectomy, and ovarian cancer varied by patient, tumor, and surgical characteristics. DESIGN: Two prospective cohort studies (N…

OBJECTIVE: To harmonize standard operating procedures (SOPs) and standardize the recording of associated data for collection, processing, and storage of human tissues relevant to endometriosis. DESIGN: An international collaboration involv…

OBJECTIVE: To harmonize the collection of nonsurgical clinical and epidemiologic data relevant to endometriosis research, allowing large-scale collaboration. DESIGN: An international collaboration involving 34 clinical/academic centers and…

OBJECTIVE: To harmonize standard operating procedures (SOPs) and standardize the recording of associated data for collection, processing, and storage of fluid biospecimens relevant to endometriosis. DESIGN: An international collaboration i…

PURPOSE: Common analgesics (aspirin, non-aspirin NSAIDs, and acetaminophen) may be associated with hormone-related cancers, possibly via effects on sex hormone and prolactin concentrations. METHODS: Between 1996 and 1999, 29,611 participan…

BACKGROUND: The rodent carcinogen acrylamide was discovered in 2002 in commonly consumed foods. Epidemiologic studies have observed positive associations between acrylamide intake and endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer risks, which sug…

HNF1B is overexpressed in clear cell epithelial ovarian cancer, and we observed epigenetic silencing in serous epithelial ovarian cancer, leading us to hypothesize that variation in this gene differentially associates with epithelial ovaria…

Differentiating ovarian tumors based on developmental pathway may further enhance our understanding of the disease. Traditionally, ovarian cancers were thought to arise from the ovarian surface epithelium; however, recent evidence suggests …

Previous studies have observed that tubal ligation and hysterectomy are associated with a decreased risk of ovarian cancer; however, little is known about whether these associations vary by surgical characteristics, individual characteristi…

BACKGROUND: Telomeres protect chromosomal ends, shorten with cellular division, and signal cellular senescence, but unchecked telomere attrition can lead to telomere dysfunction, upregulation of telomerase, and carcinogenesis. Shorter telom…

PURPOSE: The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the strength of the association between gynecologic surgeries, tubal ligation and hysterectomy, and ovarian cancer. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase dat…

Abstract Although some epidemiologic associations for ovarian cancer are established, such as the risk reduction due to parity or oral contraceptive use, the influence of other characteristics like endometriosis and non-steroidal anti-infla…

Body size in early life has been associated with breast cancer risk. This may be partly mediated through the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway. The authors assessed whether birth weight, body fatness at ages 5 and 10 years, and body …

BACKGROUND: The surface epithelial glycoprotein MUC1 becomes overexpressed and hypoglycosylated in adenocarcinomas; similar changes occur during nonmalignant inflammatory events. Antibodies developed against tumor-like MUC1 in response to s…

OBJECTIVE: Many ovarian carcinomas are presumed to arise within ovarian cortical inclusion cysts (CICs). This study examined the frequency of ovarian CICs in relation to epidemiologic risk factors in women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA+) mutat…

Hormone receptor expression in tumors may offer etiologic information for ovarian cancer, particularly in light of known associations with hormonal and reproductive risk factors. Tissue microarrays constructed from 157 paraffin-embedded blo…

BACKGROUND: Early serous carcinomas predominate in the fimbria of women with BRCA mutations (BRCA+). An entity in non-neoplastic mucosa sharing several properties of early serous carcinomas--the "p53 signature"--has been described in the di…