Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2017 May;28(5):415-428.
doi: 10.1007/s10552-017-0873-3. Epub 2017 Mar 24.

Pelvic inflammatory disease and the risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis

Zhiyi Zhou  1   2 , Fangfang Zeng  3 , Jianhui Yuan  2 , Jinling Tang  1   4 , Graham A Colditz  5 , Shelley S Tworoger  6   7 , Britton Trabert  8 , Xuefen Su  9   10
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Pelvic inflammatory disease and the risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis

Zhiyi Zhou et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2017 May.

Abstract

Purpose: Previous studies on pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and the risk of ovarian cancer have found inconsistent results. We performed an updated meta-analysis to summarize the evidence of this association.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, and ISI web of science databases were searched through October 2016 for studies that investigated the PID and ovarian cancer association. Summary risk estimates were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis.

Result: Thirteen studies were eligible for analysis, which included six cohort studies and seven case-control studies. PID was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer overall [relative risk (RR) 1.24, 95% CI 1.06-1.44; I 2 = 58.8%]. In analyses stratified by race, a significant positive association was observed in studies conducted among Asian women (RR 1.69, 95% CI 1.22-2.34; I 2 = 0%), but marginally significant among Caucasians (RR 1.18, 95% CI 1.00-1.39; I 2 = 60.7%).Risk estimates were elevated in both cohort (RR1.32; 95% CI 1.05-1.66; I 2 = 64.7%) and case-control studies (RR 1.17; 95% CI 0.93-1.49; I 2 = 57.6%), albeit not statistically significant in case-control studies.

Conclusions: Our results suggested that PID might be a potential risk factor of ovarian cancer, with pronounced associations among Asian women. Large and well-designed studies with objective assessment methods, such as hospital records, are needed to confirm the findings of this meta-analysis.

Keywords: Inflammation; Meta-analysis; Ovarian cancer; Pelvic inflammatory disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of study selection in the current meta-analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plots of the association between pelvic inflammatory disease and ovarian cancer risk
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Funnel plot of the association between pelvic inflammatory disease and ovarian cancer risk
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global Health Estimates 2015: Deaths by Cause, Age, Sex, by Country and by Region, 2000–2015. Geneva: 2016. [Accessed 09 February 2017]. http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalCOD_method_200....
    1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer Statistics, 2017. CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;67:7–30. - PubMed
    1. Schwartz PE. Diagnosis and treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer. Minerva Ginecol. 2003;55:315–326. - PubMed
    1. Trope CG, Kaern J, Davidson B. Borderline ovarian tumours. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2012;26(3):325–336. - PubMed
    1. National Cancer Institute. [Accessed 09 September 2016];Ovarian epithelial, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancer Treatment (PDQ(R)): Health Professional Version. 2016 https://www.cancer.gov/types/ovarian/hp/ovarian-epithelial-treatment-pdq. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources