Association of partner vasectomy, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate and intrauterine contraceptive devices with ovarian cancer

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the associations between ovarian cancer and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), intrauterine contraceptive devices (IUDs), and partner vasectomy.

Methods: We undertook a New Zealand-wide population-based case-control study. During 2013-2015, 205 eligible cases were identified from the cancer registry (152 [74%] participated) and 1,735 eligible controls were randomly selected from the electoral roll (837 [48%] participated). A postal questionnaire was used to gather information.

Results: Ever-use of vasectomy was inversely associated with ovarian cancer in age-adjusted analysis, but not in multivariable analysis (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.46-0.96, and OR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.54-1.23, respectively). A suggestive trend towards lower risk with longer duration of reliance on partner vasectomy was observed (P-trend = 0.08). Ever-use and duration of use of DMPA were not associated with ovarian cancer. Although ever-use of IUDs was not associated with ovarian cancer, duration of use of IUDs was associated with higher risk (P-trend = 0.04). There were also statistically significant inverse associations between ovarian cancer and use of oral contraceptives, parity, and breastfeeding.

Conclusions: Prolonged use of IUDs may increase the risk of ovarian cancer. It is also possible that an inverse association exists between ovarian cancer and partner vasectomy.

Keywords: Contraceptives; DMPA; IUDs; Ovarian cancer; Vasectomy.