The
aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current knowledge
about the etiology and pathogenesis of
borderline tumors ovarian cancer
with special emphasis on the role of endocrine treatments and
reproductive factors to establish a foundation for future studies.
METHODS:
We
performed a systematic review on the relation between ovarian
epithelial tumors (OET) and reproductive factors using the keywords:
ovarian cancer, ovarian tumor, ovarian borderline tumor, age at
menarche, age at menopause, parity, infertility, PCO syndrome, oral
contraception, menopausal hormone therapy, fertility treatment. Totally,
3,290 abstracts were scanned for their relevance in this publication
and 127 were finally included.
RESULTS:
The incidence of
ovarian epithelial cancer and ovarian borderline tumors is influenced by
certain reproductive factors. The strongest protective effects are
conferred by parity and use of oral contraceptive pills. Recent
molecular biologic and histopathologic studies prove that OET represent a
diverse group of tumors, each histologic type with a different genetic
background. This is at least partly reflected in epidemiologic and
clinical studies showing different risk modulating effects of
reproductive factors and endocrine therapies on OET.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
etiology and pathogenesis of ovarian cancer are still not fully
understood. None of the so far proposed hypothesis on the development of
OET can fully account for the epidemiologic and clinical findings in
the context of reproductive factors and OET development. Further
research approaches are warranted and need to put more weight on the
clinical and genetical diversity of OET to yield a more detailed insight
into their pathogenesis.
0 comments :
Post a Comment
Your comments?
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.