Platelets are critical components of a number of physiologic processes, including tissue remodeling after injury, wound healing, and maintenance of vascular integrity. Increasing evidence suggests that platelets may also play important roles in cancer. In ovarian cancer, thrombocytosis, both at the time of initial diagnosis and at recurrence, has been associated with poorer prognosis. This review describes current evidence for associations between thrombocytosis and ovarian cancer prognosis and discusses the clinical relevance of platelet count thresholds and timing of assessment. In addition, we discuss several mechanisms from in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies that may underlie these associations and recommend potential approaches for novel therapeutic targets for this lethal disease.

Oral contraceptive use is associated with reduced ovarian cancer risk; however, associations with other contraceptive methods, such as intrauterine device (IUD) and tubal ligation, are less clear. Women in China differ from western women in regard to mechanisms and duration of use of contraception. This study was undertaken to evaluate associations between contraceptive methods and ovarian cancer risk using data from the prospective Shanghai Women's Health Study. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression. A total of 174 epithelial ovarian cancer cases were found to occur among 70,259 women who were followed‐up for a total of 888,258 person‐years. The majority of women had ever used any contraception (77.0%), including IUD (55.6%), oral contraceptive (20.4%), tubal ligation (14.7%) or contraceptive shots (2.6%). Ever use of any contraception was associated with a nonsignificant reduction in ovarian cancer risk (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.60–1.24). Longer duration of IUD use was associated with lower ovarian cancer risk (p‐value for trend = 0.04). Compared with never users, women with durations of IUD use longer than the median (20 years) were 38% less likely to develop ovarian cancer (HR: 0.62, 95% CI: 0.40–0.97). Based on the high prevalence and long duration of IUD use among Chinese women, we estimate a preventive fraction of 9.3%, corresponding to approximately 16 ovarian cancer cases. High prevalence of long‐term IUD use may, therefore, contribute to the low incidence of ovarian cancer observed in China.

Studies of anthropometric measures and ovarian cancer risk have predominantly included women of European descent with mixed findings. Data from the prospective Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS) were used to evaluate associations between anthropometric measures and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression. A total of 152 EOC cases occurred among 70 258 women. Increasing quartiles of weight, hip circumference, and weight gain during adulthood were associated with significantly increased EOC risks. Body mass index (BMI) was also associated; overweight (25BMI<29.99) and obese women (BMI30.0) had significantly increased risks (HR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.05, 2.13, and HR: 2.42, 95% CI: 1.37, 4.28, respectively). No significant associations were observed for height, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-height ratio (WHER). Results from this large prospective study of Chinese women support the hypothesis that general adiposity contributes to the aetiology of ovarian cancer.

Background: The TGF-β signaling pathway plays a significant role in the carcinogenic process of breast cancer. Methods: We systematically evaluated associations of common variants in TGF-β signaling pathway genes with breast cancer risk using a multistage, case–control study among Asian women. Results: In the first stage, 341 single-nucleotide polymorphisms with minor allele frequencies ≥ 0.05 across 11 genes were evaluated among 2,926 cases and 2,380 controls recruited as a part of the Shanghai Breast Cancer Genetics Study (SBCGS). In the second stage, 20 SNPs with promising associations were evaluated among an additional 1,890 cases and 2,000 controls from the SBCGS. One variant, TGFBR2 rs1078985, had highly consistent and significant associations with breast cancer risk among participants in both study stages, as well as promising results from in silico analysis. Additional genotyping was carried out among 2,475 cases and 2,343 controls from the SBCGS, as well as among 5,077 cases and 5,384 controls from six studies in the Asian Breast Cancer Consortium (stage III). Pooled analysis of all data indicated that minor allele homozygotes (GG) of TGFBR2 rs1078985 had a 24% reduced risk of breast cancer compared with major allele carriers (AG or AA; OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.65–0.89; P = 8.42 × 10⁻⁴). Conclusion: These findings support a role for common genetic variation in TGF-β signaling pathway genes, specifically in TGFBR2, in breast cancer susceptibility. Impact: These findings may provide new insights into the etiology of breast cancer as well as future potential therapeutic targets. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(7); 1176–84. ©2012 AACR.