Association between ovarian and breast masses among Chinese women in Chongqing based on ultrasonography screening: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To explore associations between breast and ovarian tumors among the general healthcare population.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional retrospective study that enrolled 47 951 consecutive Chinese women who took health check-ups between January 2015 and July 2018 and accepted both breast and gynecologic ultrasound scans during one healthcare examination in The Quality Control Center of Health Examination in Chongqing (China). Prevalence of breast and ovarian tumors was addressed. Multivariable logistic regressions were applied to assess the association between breast and ovarian lesions after adjusting for age, height, and body mass index, using ultrasonographic reports.

Results: Among participants, 8481 (17.7%) had breast masses (BM), and 2994 (6.2%) had ovarian masses (OM). After adjusting for age, height and body mass index (BMI), women with OM had an increased risk of BM (odds ratio [OR] 1.139, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.040-1.249, P = 0.005) than those without OM. Furthermore, subgroup analysis based on menopausal status revealed a positive association between the occurrence of OM and BM in premenopausal women (adjusted OR 1.155, 95% CI 1.052-1.269, P = 0.012) but this was not significant in perimenopausal or postmenopausal women. In subgroup analysis on BMI, positive correlations between OM and BM were found in women with an underweight BMI (OR 1.433, 95% CI 1.048-1.960, P = 0.024) and with a normal BMI (OR 1.130, 95% CI 1.018-1.253, P = 0.021), but this was not significant in overweight or obese cohorts.

Conclusion: A high prevalence of ultrasound-revealed breast and ovarian tumors were found in Chinese women. Women with OM or BM have an increased prevalence of BM or OM, particularly among younger women and women with a lower BMI.

Keywords: breast cancer; breast mass; ovarian cancer; ovarian mass; ultrasonography.