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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Heterotypic Three-dimensional In Vitro Modeling of Stromal-Epithelial Interactions During Ovarian Cancer Initiation and Progression
Published on: August 28, 2012
Association between components of the insulin-like growth factor system and epithelial ovarian cancer risk
Luigino Dal Maso1, Livia S A Augustin, Silvia Franceschi
1Servizio di Epidemiologia e Biostatistica, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Aviano, Italy. epidemiology@cro.it
Background:
Components of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system have been associated with several cancers, but very few studies are available for ovarian cancer.
Methods:
A case-control study conducted between 1999 and 2003 in Italy, including a total of 59 women with incident, histologically confirmed ovarian cancer and 108 controls admitted to the same hospital network as cases, for acute non-neoplastic diseases. All subjects were interviewed using a validated questionnaire.
Results:
After adjustment for potential confounders, the multivariate odds ratios for the highest versus the lowest tertile of various IGF components were 0.6 (95% confidence interval, CI: 0.2-1.4) for free IGF-I, 0.4 (CI: 0.1-1.5) for total IGF-I, 2.6 (CI: 0.9-6.9) for IGF-binding protein (IGFBP)-1, and 0.2 (CI: 0.0-0.6) for IGFBP-3.
Conclusions:
This study suggests a protective role of IGFBP-3 and a positive association of IGFBP-1 with ovarian cancer. The complex role of the IGF system in ovarian carcinogenesis deserves further clarification.
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