New Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Study Explores Racial Differences in Ovarian Cancer Risk among Black and White Women with Endometriosis and Fibroids

A new study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, reveals how endometriosis, uterine leiomyomas or fibroids, and the common intervention for these conditions, hysterectomy, change ovarian cancer risk in Black and white women. The study shows that fibroids were associated with increased ovarian cancer risk in both Black and white women, with hysterectomy modifying the risk of cancer in both groups. However, the study also reveals that while Black and white women with endometriosis had a higher overall risk of ovarian cancer, hysterectomy only modified this risk of cancer for white women. The study aims to understand how racial differences impact ovarian cancer risk, particularly impacting Black women. Data from the Ovarian Cancer in Women of African Ancestry Consortium was analyzed to compare outcomes from both Black and white women impacted by endometriosis and/or fibroids. Over 8,500 women participated in the study. Researchers hope to continue investigating how racial differences impact ovarian cancer risk and the role that endometriosis and fibroids play. The study sheds light on the underfunded research of endometriosis and fibroids, diseases that have a severe impact on patients’ quality of life.