Worldwide, ovarian cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer and the seventh most common cause of cancer death among women. Countries show large variations in the incidence of ovarian cancer, which may suggest that diet determines a possible risk factor. The specific increase in ovarian cancer in US has raised concern for further research on dairy products consumption as a possible risk factor.
No evidence of association
As previous research results do not predominate, a recent study performed a meta-analysis, using data from 19 available publications. The authors distinguished subcategories of dairy food, including low-fat/skim milk, whole milk, yogurt and lactose. For all these subtypes, the analysis found no significant association with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. The authors recommend that further studies with larger participants worldwide and considering specific subtypes of ovarian cancer are needed to validate the association between dairy food intake and ovarian cancer.
