Impact of the oral contraceptive pill on the rate of ovarian cancer incidence in different races of women.

person Tosha Hedin HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, Brandon, FL info_outline Tosha Hedin, Poorvi Kirit Desai, Faiza Manji

Authors person Tosha Hedin HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, Brandon, FL info_outline Tosha Hedin, Poorvi Kirit Desai, Faiza Manji Organizations HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, Brandon, FL, Comprehensive Hematology-Oncology, Saint Petersburg, FL Abstract Disclosures Research Funding No funding sources reported Background: The rate of ovarian cancer incidence has drastically decreased over the years, though it is the fifth most leading cause of cancer death in women. Oral contraceptive pills (OCP) are a major cause for the decline due to decreasing the number of ovulations in a woman’s lifetime. In fact, women who have ever used OCPs have a 30-50% lower risk of ovarian cancer incidence compared to women who have never used OCP. This study compares the use of OCP in different races of women and its effect on the decline in incidence of ovarian cancer. Methods: The average rate of incidence per 100,000 cases per year for ovarian cancer in White, Asian and Black females was obtained from the National Program of Cancer Registries and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program SEER*Stat Database: NPCR and SEER Incidence – U.S. Cancer Statistics 2001–2019 Public Use Research Database. The National Center for Health Statistics, National Survey of Family Growth was used to find ever use of OCP among sexually experienced women ages 15–49 in the United States for 2002 and 2015-2019. Results: White women, in the year 2002 and 2019 had a rate of ever OCP use of 87% and 87.5% respectively. During that same time period, they had the most drastic decrease in ovarian cancer incidence of 43%, compared to Black and Asian female population. In 2002, the incidence rate of ovarian cancer for White women was 14.6 per 100,000. 17 years later, in 2019, it dropped to 10.2 per 100,000. Black women had the second highest ever use of OCP and the second highest rate of change for ovarian cancer incidence. In 2002, 79.1% of Black women had ever used OCPs compared to 73% in 2019. In 17 years, the incidence rate per 100,00 decreased 39% for Black women. Incidence rate per 100,000 in 2002 was 10.4 and incidence rate in 2019 was 7.5 per 100,000. Asian women comparatively had the lowest ever use of OCP and the lowest rate of change for ovarian cancer incidence. Data was not available for 2002, but in 2019, Asian women’s ever use of OCP was 65.6%. Incidence of ovarian cancer for Asian women decreased by 21% between the years 2002 to 2019. Rate per 100,000 was 10.8 in 2002 and decreased to 8.9 per 100,000 in 2019. Conclusions: The oral contraceptive pill was made available in the year 1960. Since then, it has been a large factor as to why ovarian cancer incidence has declined. Healthcare disparities and cultural differences play a part in the rate of OCP use across different races of women. This, in turn, leads to varying levels of ovarian cancer incidence decline with White women having the highest rate, followed by Black, then Asian women. Ovarian cancer has a high mortality due to inadequate screening techniques and late diagnosis which is perpetuated by cultural barriers to receiving care. A decreased risk of ovarian cancer should be considered as a benefit when prescribing OCPs and a protective factor among all studied races.