A landmark study from researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U), the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the U, and Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine found that women with severe endometriosis are 10 times more likely to get ovarian cancer, compared to women who do not have the disease. Prior studies have shown a causal connection between endometriosis and ovarian cancer. But in using the Utah Population Database-;a repository of linked health records housed at Huntsman Cancer Institute-;investigators were able to analyze the incidence rates of different types of endometriosis and subtypes of ovarian cancer for the first time.
Their research, which included a cohort of over 78,000 women with endometriosis, has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association . These are really important findings. This impacts clinical care for individuals with severe endometriosis, since they would benefit from counseling about ovarian cancer risk and prevention.
This research will also lead to further studies to understand the mechanisms through which specific types of endometriosis cause different types of ovarian cancer." Jennifer Doherty, PhD, MS, investigator and co-leader of the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute and professor of the population health sciences department at the U Jennifer Doherty, PhD, MS, investigator and co-leader of the Cancer Control and Populatio.
