Grant: Project Grant

Ovarian cancer is the most deadly of the cancers that occur only in women. It has proven difficult to diagnose disease early when treatment may be more effective, as symptoms are not easy to recognize and screening techniques are not efficient at a general population level. Thus, identifying factors that may help prevent ovarian cancer from occurring in the first place is the most promising approach. Hormones are involved in ovarian cancer. Past studies of lifestyle factors that affect hormone levels, including body fatness and physical activity, are not clear. In these past studies, body fatness and physical activity were measured among the women when they participated in the study, which was generally in late adulthood. Some research suggests that body fatness in early life may be more strongly associated with ovarian cancer risk, and thus suggests that exposures during different times in life may be more important. In this research, we will use data from an epidemiological study in Montreal to (1) estimate patterns of body fatness and physical activity from early to late adulthood, (2) examine how the timing of high body fatness and physical activity levels over the adult lifetime may differently affect the development of ovarian cancer, and (3) examine to what extent physical activity is associated with risk because of its relation to body fatness. Ovarian cancer is a cancer of critical importance to women's health, given its high fatality. This project will help in understanding if body fatness and physical activity at certain moments in a person's life is particularly important in ovarian cancer. The results will also generate knowledge important for defining important time points for cancer prevention efforts. Any new knowledge on ovarian cancer prevention will have an important impact on women's health.