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Cancer Causes & Control
Published in: Cancer Causes & Control 9/2015

01-09-2015

Intake of vitamins A, C, and E and folate and the risk of ovarian cancer in a pooled analysis of 10 cohort studies

Authors: Anita Koushik, Molin Wang, Kristin E. Anderson, Piet van den Brandt, Tess V. Clendenen, A. Heather Eliassen, Jo L. Freudenheim, Jeanine M. Genkinger, Niclas Håkansson, James R. Marshall, Marjorie L. McCullough, Anthony B. Miller, Kim Robien, Thomas E. Rohan, Catherine Schairer, Leo J. Schouten, Shelley S. Tworoger, Ying Wang, Alicja Wolk, Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte, Stephanie A. Smith-Warner

Published in: Cancer Causes & Control | Issue 9/2015

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Abstract

Purpose

Vitamins A, C, and E and folate have anticarcinogenic properties and thus might protect against cancer. Few known modifiable risk factors for ovarian cancer exist. We examined the associations between dietary and total (food and supplemental) vitamin intake and the risk of invasive epithelial ovarian cancer.

Methods

The primary data from 10 prospective cohort studies in North America and Europe were analyzed. Vitamin intakes were estimated from validated food frequency questionnaires in each study. Study-specific relative risks (RRs) were estimated using the Cox proportional hazards model and then combined using a random-effects model.

Results

Among 501,857 women, 1,973 cases of ovarian cancer occurred over a median follow-up period of 7–16 years across studies. Dietary and total intakes of each vitamin were not significantly associated with ovarian cancer risk. The pooled multivariate RRs [95 % confidence intervals (CIs)] for incremental increases in total intake of each vitamin were 1.02 (0.97–1.07) for vitamin A (increment: 1,300 mcg/day), 1.01 (0.99–1.04) for vitamin C (400 mg/day), 1.02 (0.97–1.06) for vitamin E (130 mg/day), and 1.01 (0.96–1.07) for folate (250 mcg/day). Multivitamin use (vs. nonuse) was not associated with ovarian cancer risk (pooled multivariate RR = 1.00, 95 % CI 0.89–1.12). Associations did not vary substantially by study, or by subgroups of the population. Greater vitamin intakes were associated with modestly higher risks of endometrioid tumors (n = 156 cases), but not with other histological types.

Conclusion

These results suggest that consumption of vitamins A, C, and E and folate during adulthood does not play a major role in ovarian cancer risk.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Intake of vitamins A, C, and E and folate and the risk of ovarian cancer in a pooled analysis of 10 cohort studies
Authors
Anita Koushik
Molin Wang
Kristin E. Anderson
Piet van den Brandt
Tess V. Clendenen
A. Heather Eliassen
Jo L. Freudenheim
Jeanine M. Genkinger
Niclas Håkansson
James R. Marshall
Marjorie L. McCullough
Anthony B. Miller
Kim Robien
Thomas E. Rohan
Catherine Schairer
Leo J. Schouten
Shelley S. Tworoger
Ying Wang
Alicja Wolk
Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte
Stephanie A. Smith-Warner
Publication date
01-09-2015
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Cancer Causes & Control / Issue 9/2015
Print ISSN: 0957-5243
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7225
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-015-0626-0

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