Affiliations 

  • 1 Universiti Putra Malaysia
  • 2 Hospital Kuala Lumpur
MyJurnal

Abstract

Introduction: Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer among Malaysian women. Despite being a malig-nancy with low incidence, ovarian cancer has a high mortality rate with just about 35.2% of 5-year survival. There is a limited published study on the risk factors for this cancer in Malaysia. This study aimed at identifying the repro-ductive risk factors of ovarian cancer among women at selected hospitals in Klang Valley. Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted from April 2017 to November 2019. Subjects were Malaysian citizens and aged 18 years and above. The case referred to a known case ovarian based on histopathological examination (HPE) and had been diagnosed not more than 2 years during the recruitment into the study. Controls were selected based on a negative result of HPE or intra-operative visual inspection and examination or normal findings from the ultrasound. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: A total of 111 cases and 134 controls who ful-filled the inclusion criteria participated in this study. Binary multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age at first pregnancy and infertility experience were significantly associated with risk of ovarian cancer. The odds of first pregnancy after the age of 25 years among cases was higher compared to the odds among controls (AOR=2.997, 95%CI: 1.295, 6.932, p=0.010). On the other hand, the odds of infertility experience among cases was lower com-pared to the controls (AOR=0.289, 95%CI: 0.099, 0.846, p=0.024). The lower odds of infertility experience among cases shown in this study must be interpreted with care because of wide interval and as infertility was reported to be a risk factor of ovarian cancer elsewhere. Conclusion: Reproductive risk factor for ovarian cancer were aged at first pregnancy of 25 years and above. Prevention of ovarian cancer should be targeted to his group.