The Role of Lifestyle Factors in Ovarian Cancer Prognosis
Abstract
Of the cancers that occur only among women, ovarian cancer is the most deadly. We currently do not have enough information to know how to prevent the disease. We are also unable to recognize and identify early symptoms, which could lead to earlier treatment and better survival. Until we know more about how to prevent ovarian cancer and/or diagnose it early, we also need to increase our knowledge on how to improve prognosis among the women who have already been diagnosed and treated. Currently, the only factors that have been shown to be related to differences in ovarian cancer prognosis are age, treatment differences, and some characteristics of the cancer itself. While this information helps us understand the disease, these factors are not something that can be changed for the goal of improving prognosis. Cancer patients are more often asking their healthcare providers what they themselves can change in their lifestyles to influence their future health. Identifying such lifestyle factors can empower women with ovarian cancer to improve their prognosis. A few previously published studies have looked at how lifestyle factors, such as exercise, diet, or smoking, are associated with ovarian cancer prognosis. The results of these studies are suggestive that having a healthier lifestyle may improve ovarian cancer prognosis, but only a few studies have been done and a problem with these studies is that they were assessing lifestyle factors that women were participating in before their cancer diagnosis. But it is possible that adopting healthier lifestyle choices after a cancer diagnosis may be beneficial to surviving ovarian cancer. For example, in other cancer sites like breast cancer, even if a woman was not exercising regularly before her cancer diagnosis, research shows that if she starts exercising after her cancer treatment, she might improve her future. No study has addressed this question for ovarian cancer. Thus, the objective of the proposed study is to investigate whether lifestyle factors influence ovarian cancer prognosis. Specifically, we will examine exercise, diet, vitamin D exposures, smoking, and alcohol intake. All of these factors are something that women themselves can take control of and make changes to in order to improve their outcomes. In this proposed research, we will invite women with ovarian cancer who have recently completed their treatment and ask detailed questions on exercise, diet, sources of sun exposure, smoking behavior, and alcohol intake after treatment; the impact of these lifestyle behaviors, after having completed treatment, on the recurrence of ovarian cancer will be examined. The high fatality among ovarian cancer patients poses a central problem. In this proposed study, we hope to learn more about how to improve prognosis. This research will help us better understand how to improve outcomes following diagnosis. Specifically, we will have a better idea of whether the lifestyle factors may be very strongly or only weakly related to prognosis. Knowing this can help set priorities for future research on lifestyle and ovarian cancer prognosis and ultimately for determining important clinical recommendations to ovarian cancer patients. Another important contribution of the study is that we will have a better idea of how common it is for women with ovarian cancer to be participating in healthy post-diagnosis lifestyle behaviors, which is information we currently do not have. Knowing this will allow us to consider how easy or difficult it might be to expect women with ovarian cancer to adopt new lifestyle behaviors. In this study, information on the quality of life of women with ovarian cancer is also being collected. Thus, we will be able to explore whether lifestyle factors may be related to differences in quality of life. Finally, we will establish the foundation to conduct research on the outcomes of ovarian cancer patients. Thus, this Pilot Award will set the
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510502
Entities
People
- Anita Koushik
Organizations
- Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal
- United States Army