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
Review
. 2016 Dec 5:2:14.
doi: 10.1186/s40738-016-0029-2. eCollection 2016.

Polycystic ovary syndrome and risk of endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer: a systematic review

Holly R Harris  1   2 , Kathryn L Terry  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Polycystic ovary syndrome and risk of endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer: a systematic review

Holly R Harris et al. Fertil Res Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine disorder with an estimated prevalence of 4-21% in reproductive aged women. The altered metabolic and hormonal environment among women with PCOS may increase their risk of some types of cancer.

Methods: We performed a comprehensive review of the literature using numerous search terms for all studies examining the associations between polycystic ovary syndrome and related characteristics and cancer published in English through October 2016. This review summarizes the epidemiological findings on the associations between PCOS and endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancers and discusses the methodological issues, complexities, and underlying mechanisms of these associations.

Results: We identified 11 individual studies and 3 meta-analyses on the associations between PCOS and endometrial cancer, 8 studies and 1 meta-analysis for ovarian cancer, and 10 studies and 1 meta-analysis for breast cancer. Multiple studies reported that women with PCOS were at a higher risk for endometrial cancer; however, many did not take into account body mass index (BMI), a strong and well-established risk factor for endometrial cancer. The association with ovarian cancer was less clear, but a potentially increased risk of the borderline serous subtype was reported by two studies. No consistent association between PCOS risk and breast cancer was observed.

Conclusion: The associations between PCOS and endometrial, ovarian, and breast cancer are complex, with the need to consider many methodological issues in future analyses. Larger well-designed studies, or pooled analyses, may help clarify these complex associations.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Endometrial cancer; Ovarian cancer; Polycystic ovary syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Azziz R, Woods KS, Reyna R, Key TJ, Knochenhauer ES, Yildiz BO. The Prevalence and Features of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in an Unselected Population. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89:2745–2749. doi: 10.1210/jc.2003-032046. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dokras A, Witchel SF. Are Young Adult Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Slipping through the Healthcare Cracks? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014;99(5):1583–1585. doi: 10.1210/jc.2013-4190. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sirmans S, Pate K. Epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. Clin Epidemiol. 2013;6:1–13. doi: 10.2147/CLEP.S37559. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. March WA, Moore VM, Willson KJ, Phillips DIW, Norman RJ, Davies MJ. The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in a community sample assessed under contrasting diagnostic criteria. Hum Reprod. 2010;25:544–551. doi: 10.1093/humrep/dep399. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mehrabian F, Khani B, Kelishadi R, Ghanbari E. The prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome in Iranian women based on different diagnostic criteria. Endokrynol Pol. 2011;62:238–242. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources