Generally, risk stratification models for cancer use effect estimates from risk/protective factor analyses that have not assessed potential
interactions between these exposures. We have developed a 4-criterion framework for assessing interactions that includes statistical,
qualitative, biological, and practical approaches. We present the application of this framework in an ovarian cancer setting because this is
an important step in developing more accurate risk stratification models. Using data from 9 case-control studies in the Ovarian Cancer
Association Consortium, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of interactions among 15 unequivocal risk and protective factors for
ovarian cancer (including 14 non-genetic factors and a 36-variant polygenic score) with age and menopausal status. Pairwise interactions
Received: March 23, 2023. Revised: June 08, 2023. Accepted: June 30, 2023
VC The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email:
[email protected]
JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute , 2023, 115(11), 1420–1426
https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djad137
Advance Access Publication Date: July 12, 2023
Brief Communications
between the risk/protective factors were also assessed. We found that menopausal status modifies the association among endometriosis,
first-degree family history of ovarian cancer, breastfeeding, and depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate use and disease risk, highlighting
the importance of understanding multiplicative interactions when developing risk prediction models.
The development of risk stratification approaches to identify
individuals who would most benefit from primary prevention
strategies has become increasingly important. Risk stratification
models use the effect estimates for the risk/protective factors
considered to be unequivocal in their association with the disease
under study. Generally, the effect estimates come from analyses
in which multiplicative relationships were assumed among risk
and protective factors. Using invasive epithelial ovarian cancer
(ovarian cancer), we offer a strategy for the initial steps needed to
develop accurate risk stratification models, including a 4-crite-
rion framework for assessing whether potential interactions
should be included. Interaction analyses are notoriously under-
powered, so using this framework ensures that important differ-
ences that may indicate departures from multiplicativity are not
missed.
• Criterion A (statistical approach): A likelihood ratio test com-
paring a logistic model with the interaction term vs the same
model without the interaction term (a 2-sided P < .05 for inter-
action was considered statistically significant was used here,
but other statistical approaches could be used);
• Criterion B (qualitative approach): Comparing the consis-
tency and magnitude of the odds ratios (ORs) of a factor
across the levels of the other factor (visualization from strati-
fied analysis);
• Criterion C (biological approach): Considering biological plau-
sibility; and
• Criterion D (practical approach): Assessing the prevalence of
the risk/protective factors to determine whether an interaction
would have a meaningful impact on the risk stratification
model.
Ovarian cancer is an ideal example for refining risk stratification
approaches because primary prevention strategies are available for
w o m e na tb o t ha v e r a g ea n dh i g hr i s k ,i n c l u d i n gr i s k - r e d u c i n gs a l -
pingo-oophorectomy, opportunistic salpingectomy, tubal ligation,
and possibly hormonal contraceptives ( 1-4). Unequivocal ovarian
cancer risk and protective factors include 14 non-genetic factors (4-
14) and a 36-variant polygenic score for ovarian cancer (15)( 1 5f a c -
tors are shown in Supplementary Table 1 , available online).
Importantly for ovarian and many other cancers affecting women,
the effects of age and menopausal status on the risk/protective fac-
tors must first be disentangled to determine whether one, both, or
neither modifies the associations (16).
We applied the framework to questionnaire data from 9
Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium case-control studies
from Australia ( 17), Germany (18), and the United States ( 19-25).
Institutional review board approval was obtained by the original
studies, and all participants had provided written informed con-
sent. To determine whether there was an age interaction, a men-
opausal status interaction, or both, the initial ovarian cancer and
risk and protective factor analyses were conducted among partic-
ipants in the following strata (Table 1):
• Stratum 1: Younger than 45 years of age and premenopausal
• Stratum 2: Aged 45 to 54 years and premenopausal
• Stratum 3: Aged 45 to 54 years and postmenopausal
• Stratum 4: Aged 55 to 64 years and postmenopausal
• Stratum 5: Aged 65 to 84 years and postmenopausal
We found differences in the associations between the risk/pro-
tective factors for ovarian cancer by menopausal status but not by
age (particularly informed by comparing results between strata 2
and 3; Supplementary Table 2, A-D, available online) based on the
4-criterion interaction evaluation framework described earlier.
Menopausal status appeared to modify the associations
between ovarian cancer risk and endometriosis, first-degree fam-
ily history of ovarian cancer, breastfeeding, and depot-medroxy-
progesterone acetate use ( Table 2). For example, a self-reported
history of endometriosis was associated with a greater increase
in risk of ovarian cancer among premenopausal women than
among postmenopausal participants ( P ¼ .04 for interaction; cri-
terion A). Moreover, although no standardized definitions exist
on how different the 2 stratum-specific associations should be
for a factor to be an effect modifier, it is widely accepted that an
OR less than 1.5 is considered a small effect size, while an
OR between 1.5-2.0 is considered medium ( 26). Thus, the magni-
tude of the difference in the endometriosis association between
premenopausal (OR ¼ 1.94) and postmenopausal (OR ¼ 1.33)
women is qualitatively meaningful (criterion B). Further, the
endometriosis-menopausal status interaction is biologically
plausible (criterion C) because during the premenopausal period,
endometriosis is active (ovulatory proinflammatory and prolifer-
ative processes) ( 27-30), whereas endometriosis is generally qui-
escent in the postmenopausal period ( 31). Finally, endometriosis
is estimated to have a prevalence of up to 10% in the general pop-
ulation (32); thus, it is sufficiently common to warrant fitting sep-
arate risk stratification models for pre- and postmenopausal
women to be able to incorporate different effect estimates for
endometriosis (criterion D).
Given that 4 risk and protective factors suggest an interaction
with menopausal status based on our framework, including one
that met all 4 criteria, we further evaluated pairwise interactions
between the risk and protective factors separately for pre- and
postmenopausal women. Ultimately, our application of the
framework led to the decision that there were no meaningful
interactions among the 14 environmental factors or the polygenic
score within the pre- or postmenopausal groups. As an example,
among premenopausal women, the pairwise interaction between
family history and parity was statistically significant ( P ¼ .022 for
interaction; criterion A; Supplementary Table 2, O , available
online). Parity also appeared to be more protective among women
with a family history of ovarian cancer (OR ¼ 0.25 for 3 þ parity
compared with nulliparity) vs women without a family history
(OR ¼ 0.52) (criterion B); this interaction may also be biologically
plausible (criterion C). Elevated progesterone levels during preg-
nancy may clear genetically abnormal cells in the Fallopian tube
fimbriae (33), which may preferentially benefit genetically driven
ovarian cancers (34). Although this potential pairwise interaction
may be useful for individual-level precision prevention, it would
have minor impacts on ovarian cancer risk stratification because
of the low proportion of people with a positive family history of
ovarian cancer [approximately 2% ( 35)] as well as the low abso-
lute risk of ovarian cancer among premenopausal women ( 36)
(criterion D). Thus, we concluded that it is not necessary to
M. T. Phung et al. | 1421
Table 1. Characteristics of participants with (cases) and without (controls) ovarian cancer included in the analysis, by age and menopausal status group
Premenopausal women
younger than 45 years
Premenopausal
women aged 45-54 years
Postmenopausal
women aged 45-54 years
Postmenopausal
women aged 55-64 years
Postmenopausal
women aged 65-84 years
Case partici-
pants
Control partici-
pants
Case partici-
pants
Control partici-
pants
Case partici-
pants
Control partici-
pants
Case partici-
pants
Control partici-
pantss
Case partici-
pants
Control partici-
pants
(n ¼ 965) (n ¼ 2111) (n ¼ 1269) (n ¼ 2109) (n ¼ 903) (n ¼ 1214) (n ¼ 2493) (n ¼ 3502) (n ¼ 2226) (n ¼ 3148)
Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium study, No. (%)
AUS 2001-2005Australia 114 (11.8) 266 (12.6) 183 (14.4) 226 (10.7) 134 (14.8) 146 (12.0) 479 (19.2) 454 (13.0) 435 (19.5) 390 (12.4)
DOV 2002-2009Washington, USA 116 (12.0) 182 (8.6) 209 (16.5) 311 (14.7) 99 (11.0) 122 (10.0) 425 (17.0) 660 (18.8) 224 (10.1) 414 (13.2)
GER 1993-1998Germany 26 (2.7) 90 (4.3) 25 (2.0) 66 (3.1) 15 (1.7) 53 (4.4) 72 (2.9) 175 (5.0) 42 (1.9) 125 (4.0)
HAW1993-2008Hawaii, USA 105 (10.9) 246 (11.7) 89 (7.0) 174 (8.3) 111 (12.3) 127 (10.5) 175 (7.0) 240 (6.9) 203 (9.1) 290 (9.2)
HOP 2003-2009Western Pennsylvania,
northeast Ohio, western
New York, USA
64 (6.6) 176 (8.3) 120 (9.5) 354 (16.8) 34 (3.8) 125 (10.3) 208 (8.3) 489 (14.0) 252 (11.3) 534 (17.0)
NEC 1992-2008New Hampshire,
eastern Massachusetts,
USA
235 (24.4) 496 (23.5) 249 (19.6) 354 (16.8) 187 (20.7) 214 (17.6) 422 (16.9) 542 (15.5) 347 (15.6) 452 (14.4)
NJO 2002-2009New Jersey, USA 22 (2.3) 19 (0.9) 50 (3.9) 43 (2.0) 20 (2.2) 21 (1.7) 77 (3.1) 154 (4.4) 45 (2.0) 205 (6.5)
UCI 1994-2005Southern California, USA 41 (4.2) 132 (6.3) 74 (5.8) 99 (4.7) 33 (3.7) 74 (6.1) 101 (4.1) 150 (4.3) 117 (5.3) 140 (4.4)
USC 1993-2010Los Angeles, California,
USA
242 (25.1) 504 (23.9) 270 (21.3) 482 (22.9) 270 (29.9) 332 (27.3) 534 (21.4) 638 (18.2) 561 (25.2) 598 (19.0)
Age at diagnosis for cases/reference age for controls, year
Mean (SD) 38.3 (5.28) 36.9 (5.92) 48.9 (2.63) 48.7 (2.63) 51.4 (2.31) 51.4 (2.34) 59.6 (2.77) 59.5 (2.78) 70.8 (4.46) 70.9 (4.49)
Median (Min, Max) 40.0 (20.0, 44.0) 38.0 (18.0, 44.0) 49.0 (45.0, 54.0) 49.0 (45.0, 54.0) 52.0 (45.0, 54.0) 52.0 (45.0, 54.0) 60.0 (55.0, 64.0) 59.0 (55 .0, 64.0) 70.0 (65.0, 84.0) 70.0 (65.0, 84.0)
Race/ethnicity, No. (%)
Asian 111 (11.5) 148 (7.0) 108 (8.5) 121 (5.7) 69 (7.6) 61 (5.0) 100 (4.0) 99 (2.8) 130 (5.8) 158 (5.0)
Black 30 (3.1) 54 (2.6) 24 (1.9) 45 (2.1) 28 (3.1) 24 (2.0) 57 (2.3) 53 (1.5) 35 (1.6) 52 (1.7)
Hispanic White 67 (6.9) 135 (6.4) 49 (3.9) 92 (4.4) 59 (6.5) 67 (5.5) 120 (4.8) 110 (3.1) 70 (3.1) 56 (1.8)
Non-Hispanic White 691 (71.6) 1603 (75.9) 1044 (82.3) 1749 (82.9) 688 (76.2) 1005 (82.8) 2121 (85.1) 3116 (89.0) 1927 (86.6) 2778 (88.2)
Other
a 62 (6.4) 157 (7.4) 41 (3.2) 97 (4.6) 54 (6.0) 55 (4.5) 84 (3.4) 119 (3.4) 58 (2.6) 99 (3.1)
Missing 4 (0.4) 14 (0.7) 3 (0.2) 5 (0.2) 5 (0.6) 2 (0.2) 11 (0.4) 5 (0.1) 6 (0.3) 5 (0.2)
Education level, No. (%)
Less than high school 55 (5.7) 95 (4.5) 87 (6.9) 105 (5.0) 86 (9.5) 89 (7.3) 352 (14.1) 348 (9.9) 467 (21.0) 439 (13.9)
High school 205 (21.2) 389 (18.4) 261 (20.6) 374 (17.7) 172 (19.0) 251 (20.7) 585 (23.5) 805 (23.0) 634 (28.5) 932 (29.6)
Some college 297 (30.8) 605 (28.7) 376 (29.6) 644 (30.5) 275 (30.5) 374 (30.8) 742 (29.8) 1021 (29.2) 593 (26.6) 869 (27.6)
College graduate or above 396 (41.0) 959 (45.4) 529 (41.7) 935 (44.3) 346 (38.3) 461 (38.0) 742 (29.8) 1237 (35.3) 441 (19.8) 810 (25.7)
Missing 12 (1.2) 63 (3.0) 16 (1.3) 51 (2.4) 24 (2.7) 39 (3.2) 72 (2.9) 91 (2.6) 91 (4.1) 98 (3.1)
a Other includes mixed race and those that do not belong in one of the specified racial/ethnic groups. AUS¼ Australian Ovarian Cancer Study; DOV ¼ Diseases of the Ovary and their Evaluation; GER¼ German Ovarian
Cancer Study; HAW ¼ Hawaii Ovarian Cancer Case-Control Study; HOP ¼ Hormones and Ovarian Cancer Prediction; NEC ¼ New England Case Control Study; NJO ¼ New Jersey Ovarian Cancer Study; SD ¼ Standard
deviation; USA ¼ United States of America; UCI ¼ University California Irvine Ovarian Study; USC ¼ Study of Lifestyle and Women’s Health.
1422 | JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute , 2023, Vol. 115, No. 11
include an interaction term for family history and parity in a risk
stratification model.
Our proposed framework has some level of subjectivity. The
risk associations for 3 of the 4 risk factors that drove our conclu-
sion that associations differ by menopausal status were not stat-
istically significantly different in the 2 strata (criterion A) but met
the other 3 criteria used for evaluation. Some investigators, how-
ever, may want to prioritize statistical significance (either using
the interaction test presented here or using the Bayes false-
positive probability) over the other 3 criteria and only use criteria
B through D to decide against there being an interaction.
Operationally, we decided that criterion A or B must be met
before criteria C and D are considered. When criteria conflict
with each other, however, we considered all criteria to inform our
decision-making process (see the examples earlier). Another
example is the age-parity interaction among postmenopausal
women. The interaction was statistically significant ( P ¼ .009 for
interaction; criterion A) and the prevalence of ever having given
birth [85% (37)] is sufficient for this potential interaction to have
a meaningful impact on risk stratification (criterion D). There
was no pattern in the odds ratios for parity across the age groups
(Supplementary Table 2, C, available online; criterion B), suggest-
ing that this is a chance finding. We therefore determined, based
on applying our framework, that this was not an interaction that
should be incorporated into a risk stratification model.
In conclusion, the application of our 4-criterion interaction
evaluation framework ( Supplementary Tables 2, A-F , available
online) demonstrates that menopausal status modifies the asso-
ciation of at least one ovarian cancer risk/protective factor and
the disease risk, supporting the use of separate models by meno-
pausal status in risk stratification. The menopausal status–risk
factors interactions are likely not influenced by histotype
because the distributions are similar between pre- and postme-
nopausal women aged 45 to 54 years ( Supplementary Table 3 ,
available online). The finding of no age–risk factor interactions
could in part be due to the differences in histotype distributions
across age groups. Interaction analyses stratified by histotype,
however, would not be meaningful because of the small sample
size of the rare histotypes. Additional research in prospective
cohorts is needed to estimate absolute risk incorporating interac-
tions to assess their impact on risk stratification.
To develop meaningful risk stratification models, it is critical
first to comprehensively assess interactions using statistical,
qualitative, biological, and practical approaches (criteria A-D).
Many published cancer risk stratification models either do not
consider interactions or are based solely on P values (criterion A)
to assess interactions ( 38-44). This approach has limitations
because P values vary according to sample size, and there are
issues related to multiple comparison. As such, we propose a
framework that co-emphasizes the statistical (criterion A) and
qualitative (criterion B) approaches and also includes the biologi-
cal approach (criterion C) and practical approach (criterion D).
Comprehensive interaction analysis for risk stratification can
most effectively be done within consortia with large sample sizes.
Continued collaboration in the field is necessary, and using the
data fully must be a priority to move closer to realizing the goals
of precision cancer prevention.
Data availability
The data generated in this study are not publicly available
because of limitations imposed by the original studies in which
these data were collected. The corresponding author will
Table 2. Associations between risk/protective factors and ovarian cancer that differed by menopausal status among women aged 45-54 years
Risk/protective
factor
All women aged 45-54 years (pre- and postmenopausal
combined) Premenopausal women aged 45-54 years Postmenopausal women aged 45-54 years
Case
participants,a
No.
Control
participants,a
No.
ORb
(95% CI)
Case
participants,a
No.
Control
participants,a
No.
ORb
(95% CI)
Case
participants,a
No.
Control
participants,a
No.
ORb
(95% CI)
P-
interactionc
Interaction
criteria
metd
Breastfeeding
Never 1212 1278 1.0 693 763 1.0 519 515 1.0
<12 months 551 978 0.76 (0.64 to 0.89) 327 595 0.78 (0.62 to 0.98) 224 383 0.71 (0.55 to 0.92)
/C21 12 months 397 998 0.59 (0.49 to 0.72) 240 706 0.53 (0.42 to 0.68) 157 292 0.69 (0.51 to 0.94) .064 (b), (c), (d)
Depot-medroxyprogesterone acetate use
No 1886 2793 1.0 1109 1793 1.0 777 1000 1.0
Yes 21 76 0.61 (0.36 to 1.02) 10 52 0.51 (0.26 to 1.00) 11 24 0.80 (0.38 to 1.69) .35 (b), (c), (d)
First-degree family history of ovarian cancer
No 1610 2548 1.0 943 1633 1.0 667 915 1.0
Yes 119 87 2.15 (1.56 to 2.97) 69 48 2.43 (1.58 to 3.73) 50 39 1.83 (1.15 to 2.91) .39 (b), (c), (d)
Endometriosis
No 1889 3058 1.0 1128 1981 1.0 761 1077 1.0
Yes 269 255 1.60 (1.32 to 1.95) 135 123 1.94 (1.47 to 2.57) 134 132 1.33 (1.00 to 1.76) .041 (a), (b), (c), (d)
a Numbers may not sum to total because of missing values. CI¼ confidence interval; OR ¼ odds ratio.
b Pooled estimates from logistic regression models in the 50 imputed datasets, adjusted for age at diagnosis for cases/reference age for controls (45-49 years vs 50-54 years), race/ethnicity, education level, and Ovarian
Cancer Association Consortium study.
c P value for interaction between risk or protective factor and menopausal status using the likelihood ratio test.
d Criteria to assess interactions: (a) P < .05 for interaction; (b) odds ratios of a factor across the levels of the other factor are consistent, and the differences in magnitude are large; (c) the interaction is biologically
plausible; and (d) the prevalence of the risk factors is large enough so that the interaction would have a meaningful impact on the risk stratification model.
M. T. Phung et al. | 1423
facilitate access through existing data request processes for the
Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium.
Author contributions
Minh Tung Phung, PhD, MPH (Conceptualization; Formal analy-
sis; Methodology; Writing—original draft; Writing—review & edit-
ing), Malcolm C. Pike, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review
& editing), Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD (Writing—review & editing),
Rafael Meza, PhD (Writing—review & editing), Gillian E. Hanley,
PhD (Writing—review & editing), Kathleen R. Cho, MD (Writing—
review & editing), Andrew Berchuck, MD (Funding acquisition;
Writing—review & editing), Argyrios Ziogas, PhD (Funding acquis-
ition; Writing—review & editing), Nur Zeinomar, PhD (Funding
acquisition; Writing—review & editing), Anna H. Wu, PhD
(Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing), Penelope M.
Webb, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing),
Linda J. Titus, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review & edit-
ing), Kathryn L. Terry, ScD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review
& editing), Bo Qin, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review &
editing), Celeste Leigh Pearce, PhD, MPH (Conceptualization;
Funding acquisition; Methodology; Resources; Supervision;
Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing), Paul D. P.
Pharoah, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing),
Francesmary Modugno, PhD, MPH (Funding acquisition;
Writing—review & editing), Allan Jensen, PhD (Funding acquisi-
tion; Writing—review & editing), Holly R. Harris, ScD, MPH
(Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing), Marc T.
Goodman, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing),
Renee T. Fortner, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review &
editing), Jennifer Anne Doherty, MS, PhD (Funding acquisition;
Writing—review & editing), Daniel W. Cramer, MD, ScD (Funding
acquisition; Writing—review & editing), Jenny Chang-Claude,
PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing), Michael E.
Carney, MD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review & editing),
Elisa V. Bandera, MD, PhD (Funding acquisition; Writing—review
& editing), Hoda Anton-Culver, PhD (Funding acquisition;
Writing—review & editing), Karen McLean, MD, PhD (Writing—
review & editing), Alice W. Lee, PhD, MPH (Writing—review &
editing), Kirsten B. Moysich, MS, PhD (Funding acquisition;
Writing—review & editing), Britton Trabert, PhD
(Conceptualization; Funding acquisition; Methodology;
Supervision; Writing—original draft; Writing—review & editing).
Funding
The Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium is supported by a
grant from the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund thanks to dona-
tions by the family and friends of Kathryn Sladek Smith (PPD/
RPCI.07). The scientific development and funding for this project
were in part supported by the US National Cancer Institute
GAME-ON (Genetic Associations and Mechanisms in Oncology)
Post-GWAS Initiative (U19-CA148112). This study used data gen-
erated by the Wellcome Trust Case Control consortium, which
was funded by the Wellcome Trust under award No. 076113. The