Recreational physical activity and survival in African-American women with ovarian cancer

Purpose While recreational physical activity (RPA) has been associated with reduced mortality in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, evidence for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is limited. Most EOC studies have been in predominantly white populations, although inactivity is more prevalent and survival is poorer among African-American (AA) women. We examined RPA before and after EOC diagnosis and associations with survival among AA women. Methods We analyzed data from 264 EOC survivors enrolled in a population-based, case-control study who completed surveys that included questions about pre- and post-diagnosis RPA. Data were collected on RPA frequency, intensity, and duration before diagnosis and approximately 1 year after the baseline interview. We calculated metabolic equivalent of task (MET)-hours/week for pre-and post-diagnosis RPA, and evaluated associations with risk of mortality using Cox proportional hazards models. Results RPA before diagnosis was not associated with mortality. Hazard ratios (HRs) for post-diagnosis RPA were <1.0 but not statistically significant after adjustment for covariates; HRs were 0.94 (95% CI 0.58, 1.54) for >0-9 MET-hours/week and 0.53 (95% CI 0.21, 1.35) for >9 MET-hours/week. Conclusions Our results suggest that RPA may be inversely associated with mortality among AA women with ovarian cancer, although it is possible that the present study was underpowered to detect an association. There is a clear need for more studies of RPA after diagnosis in EOC survivors with attention to potential differences by race.