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Background Hysterectomy is one of the most commonly performed gynecological surgeries, with an estimated 30% of women in Australia undergoing the procedure by age 70. In the USA, about 45% of women have a hysterectomy in their lifetime. Some studies have suggested this procedure increases the risk of premature mortality. With many women making the decision to have a hysterectomy for a benign indication each year, additional research is needed to clarify whether there are long-term health consequences of hysterectomy. Objective Our aim was to examine the association between hysterectomy for benign indications, with or without removal of the ovaries, and cause-specific and all-cause mortality. Study Design Our cohort of 666,588 women comprised the female population of Western Australia with linked hospital and health records from 1970 to 2015. We used Cox regression models to assess the association between hysterectomy and all-cause, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other mortality by oophorectomy type (categorized as none, unilateral and bilateral), with no hysterectomy or oophorectomy as the reference group. We repeated these analyses using hysterectomy without oophorectomy as the reference group. We also investigated whether associations varied by age at the time of surgery, although small sample size precluded this analysis in women who had a hysterectomy with unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. In our main analysis, women who had hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy undertaken as part of treatment for cancer were retained in the analysis and considered unexposed to that surgery. As a sensitivity analysis, we censored procedures undertaken for cancer. Results Compared to no surgery, having a hysterectomy without oophorectomy before age 35 was associated with an increase in all-cause mortality (HR=1.29, 95% CI:1.19-1.40); for surgery after age 35, there was an inverse association (35-44 years: HR=0.93, 95%CI:0.89,0.97). Similarly, hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was associated with increased all-cause mortality when undertaken before age 45 (35-44 years: HR=1.15, 95%CI:1.04-1.27), but decreased mortality rates when surgery was undertaken after age 45. In our sensitivity analysis, censoring gynecological surgeries for cancer resulted in many cancer-related deaths being excluded for women who did not have surgery for benign indications, and thus increased the hazard ratios for the associations between both hysterectomy without oophorectomy and hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and risk of all-cause and cancer-specific mortality. The sensitivity analysis therefore potentially biased the results in favor of no surgery. Conclusion Among women having surgery for benign indications, hysterectomy without oophorectomy performed prior to 35 years and hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy performed prior to 45 years were associated with an increase in all-cause mortality. These procedures are not associated with poorer long-term survival when performed at older ages.

Aspirin and nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to decrease tumor progression in pre-clinical models of ovarian cancer, however the influence of these drugs on survival in women following a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is unknown. We included 1305 Australian women diagnosed with incident invasive epithelial ovarian cancer, recruited into a population-based case-control study. Use of aspirin, nonaspirin NSAIDs and acetaminophen in the 5 years preceding ovarian cancer diagnosis was assessed from self-reports. Deaths were ascertained up to October 2011 via linkage with the Australian National Death Index. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). During a mean follow-up time of 4.9 years (SD 2.8 years), there were 834 deaths, of which 779 (93% of deaths) were from ovarian cancer. We found uniformly inverse, but non-significant, HRs for ever use in the last five years of aspirin, nonaspirin NSAIDs and acetaminophen compared with no use (adjusted HRs 0.92 [95% CI 0.81-1.06], 0.91 [95% CI 0.80-1.05] and 0.91 [95% CI 0.69-1.20], respectively). There was no evidence of any dose response trends. The results remained unchanged when we limited the outcome to ovarian cancer mortality. Associations did not differ by histologic subtype, age at diagnosis or stage. Given current interest in the role of aspirin and nonaspirin NSAIDs in cancer survival these results are noteworthy given they are the first to investigate these associations in women with ovarian cancer. Our results provide no strong evidence that pre-diagnostic use of aspirin or nonaspirin NSAIDs are associated with improved survival in women with ovarian cancer.

a b s t r a c t Objective: To investigate the prevalence of established modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors asso- ciated with breast cancer in Queensland (Australia) women. Study design: Cross-sectional prevalence study of 9792 women (58% of women sent the questionnaire) attending BreastScreen Queensland Screening and Assessment Services between November 2008 and February 2009. Prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each risk factor, stratified by age-group (45-49 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years, ≥70 years). Main outcome measures: First-degree family history (FH) of breast cancer (mother, sister, daughter), reproductive history, behavioural factors, co-morbidities, use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and alternatives, and socio-demographic factors. Results: The prevalence of first-degree FH of breast cancer was 16% and a previous diagnosis of breast cancer was 3.5%; both are considered major risk factors for breast cancer. The prevalence of modifi- able breast cancer risk factors of moderate risk were: current HRT use (12%), HRT use within the past 5 years (7%), overweight (body mass index 25-29) (33%) or obesity (BMI > 30) (27%), alcohol consump- tion (≥11 drinks/week) (10%), sedentary behaviour (70%), and low fruit (34%) and vegetable consumption (69%). These risk factors tended to be higher in younger women (45-49 years) compared to older women (>50 years). Conclusion: Prevalence of risk factors in Queensland women were largely consistent with other Australian and international studies. Hormone therapy use is lower than previously reported estimates in Australia and internationally. The comparatively high prevalence of modifiable lifestyle factors which have been shown to be moderately associated with breast cancer are potential targets for reducing the public health