Grand Rounds

Antihistamine Use and Ovarian Cancer Risk

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Previous literature suggests that histamines, which are known immune modulators, may be associated with cancer
Histamine accumulation has been reported in ovarian tumors
Verdoodt et al. (Maturitas, 2018) examined the association between antihistamine use and ovarian cancer risk

Nationwide case-control study
- Women in Denmark aged 30-84 years
- Histologically verified first diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer
Age-matched controls
Prescription use, patient and demographic characteristics were obtained from nationwide registries
The association between antihistamine use and ovarian cancer was evaluated in the context of
- Antihistamine use
- Menopausal status
- Histological subtype of ovarian cancer

5,556 women with ovarian cancer | 83,340 age matched controls
Ever use of antihistamines was not associated with overall ovarian cancer
- Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.97 (95% CI = 0.90–1.05)
The lack of association remained in subanalyses for patterns of antihistamine use
Antihistamine use was inversely association with ovarian cancer among pre-menopausal women (<50 year)
- OR = 0.72 (95% CI = 0.57-0.90)
- Inverse association was found only with mucinous ovarian cancer
No association was seen in women ≥50 years
- OR = 1.02 (95%CI = 0.93–1.11)

Antihistamine use was not associated with increased risk for epithelial ovarian cancer
Further research may elucidate whether there is a protective effect of antihistamines on mucinous ovarian carcinoma

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