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Published on: October 14, 2015
Protective Effect of Progesterone during Pregnancy against Ovarian Cancer
Kyung Hee Han1, Mi-Kyung Kim1, Hee Seung Kim1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine.
Abstract:
There have been several epidemiologic studies supporting the protective role of pregnancy, although the mechanism is not clear. High level of progesterone, which is crucial in maintaining pregnancy, has been supposed to be one of the causative factors. Progesterone is produced at the corpus luteum in the early pregnancy and the placenta in the late pregnancy period. In several experimental studies, progesterone was reported to induce apoptosis of ovarian cancer cells through intrinsic and extrinsic pathways. In addition, progesterone has been shown to exert its anticancer effect through genomic and non-genomic action. The objective of this review is to discuss the protective mechanism of pregnancy against ovarian cancer focusing on the steroid hormone, progesterone.
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