Mary K. Townsend

BACKGROUND: Given primary prevention strategies for ovarian cancer, such as surgery and medications, have inherent risks, identifying those at high risk of lethal ovarian cancer is critical. We examined pre-diagnosis factors and risk of dev…

BACKGROUND: Non-hormonal intrauterine devices (IUDs) create an inflammatory uterine environment while oral contraceptives (OC) suppress ovulation and have different associations with ovarian cancer risk. We have evaluated the associations o…

Ovarian cancer incidence has declined in recent decades, due in part to oral contraceptive (OC) use and tubal ligation. However, intrauterine device (IUD) use has increasingly replaced OC use. As ovarian cancer is an inflammation-related di…

BackgroundParity and breastfeeding are associated with systemic changes in maternal inflammation and reduced risk of ovarian cancer, but little is known about their impact on the ovarian tumor immune microenvironment.MethodsWe evaluated the…

BackgroundCigarette smoke exposure has been linked to systemic immune dysfunction, including for B-cell and immunoglobulin (Ig) production, and poor outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer. No study has evaluated the impact of smoke exposu…

BackgroundOne of the mechanisms of ovarian tumorigenesis is through inflammation. Kidney dysfunction is associated with increased inflammation; thus, we assessed its relationship with ovarian cancer risk.MethodsIn prospectively collected sa…

PURPOSE: Frequent aspirin use has been associated with reduced ovarian cancer risk, but no study has comprehensively assessed for effect modification. We leveraged harmonized, individual-level data from 17 studies to examine the association…

BackgroundChronic inflammation is a well-established mechanism of ovarian carcinogenesis; however, the specific immunogenic processes influencing ovarian tumor development remain unclear. In a case-control study nested within the Nurses' He…

BackgroundDifferential 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 ana…

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…

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…

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…