An epidemiologic study of ovarian cancer. Part 11: Oral contraceptive use and menstrual events.

This work was conducted to investigate the potential risk factors which may contribute to the development of ovarian cancer. A retrospective analysis was adopted where 52 ovarian cancer cases and an equal number of a control group were obtained from the Western region of Saudi Arabia. This case-control study confirms that oral contraceptive use protects against the onset of ovarian cancer and that the decrease in the risk of the development of this disease is also directly related to the duration of use. Additionally, the study revealed a positive association between both age at menopause and hot flashes and the relative risk of ovarian cancer. On the contrary, age at menarche and premenstrual tension have been shown in this study to have no role as a risk factor in the development of ovarian cancer.