Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Factors that help prevent ovarian cancer are poorly understood. Given ovarian cancer is difficult to diagnose early, methods that can prevent its development are crucial. Hormones are involved in ovarian cancer, and it is possible that lifestyle factors that influence female hormone levels, such as body size and physical activity, could promote the development of ovarian cancer. However, studies that have examined the impact of body size and physical activity on ovarian cancer risk are not clear. Many of these studies measured body size and physical activity only once during older adulthood. However, some studies show that body size, indicated by elevated body weight, in early adulthood may increase the risk of ovarian cancer, suggesting that the timing of these measurements is important to consider. The goal of this research is to examine 1) how the timing of elevated body weight over adulthood may differently impact the development of ovarian cancer, and 2) how the timing of physical activity levels over adulthood may differently impact the development of ovarian cancer. Using data from an epidemiological study of Montreal women, we will compare women with ovarian cancer to a representative group of women without ovarian cancer to identify which time periods of elevated body weight and physical activity across a woman's adult life span exert the greatest impact on ovarian cancer risk. Our results will help in understanding the causes of cancer by generating new knowledge on how the timing of body size and physical activity influences risk.