Systematic Review of the Effect of Physical Activity on Ovarian Cancer

Neha Khandpur has trained in nutrition, physical activity and public health from the University of Bristol, UK. She is currently working as Research Analyst at the Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, on various nutrition and chronic disease related projects.

Physical activity has been shown to play a pivotal role in decreasing risk of diseases including many cancers. However, there is limited data supporting its relationship with ovarian cancer. A systematic review was undertaken to accurately summarise the change in risk of ovarian cancer with different activity levels. This interim report presents the conceptual issues central to the above study along with a narrative analysis on the trials included in the review. A rigorous procedure was implemented to locate and appraise relevant literature. Selection criteria were applied to the studies located and data was extracted from the eligible studies. 17 papers representing a total of 14 different observational studies met the selection criteria and were included in the review. Overall, more case-control studies than cohorts demonstrated a statistically significant inverse relationship between physical activity and ovarian cancer and seven studies found a significant dose- response. The limited data available are indicative of an inverse association between physical activity and ovarian cancer risk.