Benign gynecological tumors: estimated incidence. Results of the German Cohort Study on Women's Health

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the lifetime incidence of benign gynecological tumors.

Study design: The German Cohort Study on Women's Health was launched in 1998 as historic cohort study with prospective follow up. The study ascertained self-reported information on tumors by calendar time. The incidence of benign gynecological tumors was calculated from the data of the first cohort period.

Results: The cohort comprised 396000 women-years of observation and 1676 benign tumors were observed. This lead to incidence estimates of 27.0, 18.6, and 23.3 per 100000 women-years of observation for all benign tumors of the uterus, ovary, and breast respectively.

Conclusion: In absence of other data, it is reasonable to use incidence rates generated by a large cohort of German women as a best estimate for the population up to 65 years of age.