|
News
Elevated IGF-1 Linked to Risk of Ovarian Cancer in Younger Women
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Oct 29 - Results of a study published in the
October 20th issue of the International Journal of Cancer suggest an
association between elevated circulatory insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1
levels and an increased risk of developing ovarian cancer before age 55.
"IGF-1, a mitogenic and anti-apoptotic peptide, has been implicated in the
development of several cancers," Dr. Rudolf Kaaks, of the International
Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, and colleagues note. In a
case-control study nested within three prospective cohorts, the team
examined the association between IGF-1 concentrations and the risk of
ovarian cancer.
Case subjects included 132 women who were diagnosed with primary invasive
epithelial ovarian cancer at least 1 year after blood donation. "For each
case, two control subjects were selected, matching the case subject on
cohort, menopausal status, age, and date of recruitment (n = 263)," the
investigators explain.
IGF-1 concentrations were not associated with the risk of ovarian cancer in
the study group as a whole. However, among women younger than 55 years,
circulating IGF-1 was strongly associated with ovarian cancer risk, with an
odds ratio of 4.97 for the top versus the bottom IGF-1 tertile after
adjusting for confounders.
"IGF-1 levels are intricately related to nutritional status and energy
balance, and might provide a link between nutritional life-style factors
such as energy- and protein-dense diets and lack of physical activity and
cancer development," Dr. Kaaks and colleagues suggest.
Int J Cancer 2002;101:549-554.
|
