Risk Factor for Ovarian Cancer

To the Editor: The recent report from the Cancer and Steroid Hormone Study (March 12 issue) 1 does appear to support the previous findings of a progressive reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer with (1) duration of oral-contraceptive use and (2) increasing parity. An apparent new finding from this study, however, is a reduced risk of ovarian cancer among women who had breast-fed. A 60 percent reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer was found among women who had breast-fed as compared with nulliparous women (Table 1). Moreover, relative to parous women who had not breast-fed, those who had breast-fed . . . No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.