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I would really appreciate any help
Doctor,
I am a Junior at a highshool in Colorado and I would really appreciate some input on a science fair project I have currently engaged in. I am doing a test on how Ovarian Cancer may be prevented from using birth control for a certain period of time (at least 15 years for at least 30 years of protection after stopping the use of birth control), it has been found that approximately 30,000 deaths have been prevented from Ovarian Cancer because the women had been on birth control for at least 15 years. I was wondering if you would be able to help me find out a good way of testing this, as well as the veiw of birth control and Ovarian Cancer, from the prospective of a doctor.
Thank you for your time,
Mandy Patrick
P.S. I really appreciate any imput you can give me thank you for your time.
I am a Junior at a highshool in Colorado and I would really appreciate some input on a science fair project I have currently engaged in. I am doing a test on how Ovarian Cancer may be prevented from using birth control for a certain period of time (at least 15 years for at least 30 years of protection after stopping the use of birth control), it has been found that approximately 30,000 deaths have been prevented from Ovarian Cancer because the women had been on birth control for at least 15 years. I was wondering if you would be able to help me find out a good way of testing this, as well as the veiw of birth control and Ovarian Cancer, from the prospective of a doctor.
Thank you for your time,
Mandy Patrick
P.S. I really appreciate any imput you can give me thank you for your time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Dear Mandy,
I am so glad that you are learning about ovarian cancer . There is so much you can research.
It has been noticed that women who have used birth control pills have half the risk of ovarian cancer compared to women who have not used the pill. But statistics are tricky. Clearly there have been many, many women who have used oral contraceptives but have still developed ovarian cancer. So there are many factors that come into play in the development of ovarian cancer (such as genetics) and so much that we do not know.
Mandy, you are going to have to educate me about science fair projects. ( I suspect they are different from when I was a junior!) As I see it there are probably several goals in such a project. One goal would be educating yourself. The other goal would be educating others.
In that spirit, you could learn about the anatomy and physiology of the ovary and look at the theories for how ovarian cancer starts. Think about how you can present that information to others.
There are two theories about ovarian cancer development.One is called incessant ovulation. The thought is that ovulation is traumatic to the surface of the ovary. Perhaps this trauma leads to cancer. In that case suppressing ovulation with the birth control pill may reduce cancer incidence.
The second theory is that elevated hormone levels of gondotropins is involved with ovarian cancer formation. Birth control pills reduce those levels.
On another level, educating people to symptoms of ovarian cancer may be an interesting project. Here is an an important paper on this topic.
good luck with your project.
Development of an ovarian cancer symptom index: possibilities for earlier detection.Goff BA, Mandel LS, Drescher CW, Urban N, Gough S, Schurman KM, Patras J, Mahony BS, Andersen MR.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98196-6460, USA. ***@****
BACKGROUND: Currently, screening for ovarian cancer is not recommended for the general population. Targeting women with specific symptoms for screening has been evaluated only recently, because it was believed that symptoms had limited specificity. METHODS: A case-control study of 149 women with ovarian cancer, including 255 women who were in a screening program and 233 women who were referred for pelvic/abdominal ultrasound, was conducted by inviting women to complete a survey of symptoms. Patients were divided randomly into an exploratory group and a confirmatory group. Symptom types, frequency, severity, and duration were compared between cases and controls. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine which factors independently predicted cancer in the exploratory group and then were used to develop a symptom index, which was tested for sensitivity and specificity in the confirmatory group. RESULTS: Symptoms that were associated significantly with ovarian cancer were pelvic/abdominal pain, urinary urgency/frequency, increased abdominal size/bloating, and difficulty eating/feeling full when they were present for 12 days per month. In a logistic regression analysis, symptoms that were associated independently with cancer were pelvic/abdominal pain (P < .001), increased abdominal size/bloating (P12 times per month but were present for 50 years and 86.7% for women age <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: Specific symptoms in conjunction with their frequency and duration were useful in identifying women with ovarian cancer. A symptom index may be useful for identifying women who are at risk.
1: Cancer. 2007 Jan 15;109(2):221-7.
I am so glad that you are learning about ovarian cancer . There is so much you can research.
It has been noticed that women who have used birth control pills have half the risk of ovarian cancer compared to women who have not used the pill. But statistics are tricky. Clearly there have been many, many women who have used oral contraceptives but have still developed ovarian cancer. So there are many factors that come into play in the development of ovarian cancer (such as genetics) and so much that we do not know.
Mandy, you are going to have to educate me about science fair projects. ( I suspect they are different from when I was a junior!) As I see it there are probably several goals in such a project. One goal would be educating yourself. The other goal would be educating others.
In that spirit, you could learn about the anatomy and physiology of the ovary and look at the theories for how ovarian cancer starts. Think about how you can present that information to others.
There are two theories about ovarian cancer development.One is called incessant ovulation. The thought is that ovulation is traumatic to the surface of the ovary. Perhaps this trauma leads to cancer. In that case suppressing ovulation with the birth control pill may reduce cancer incidence.
The second theory is that elevated hormone levels of gondotropins is involved with ovarian cancer formation. Birth control pills reduce those levels.
On another level, educating people to symptoms of ovarian cancer may be an interesting project. Here is an an important paper on this topic.
good luck with your project.
Development of an ovarian cancer symptom index: possibilities for earlier detection.Goff BA, Mandel LS, Drescher CW, Urban N, Gough S, Schurman KM, Patras J, Mahony BS, Andersen MR.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington 98196-6460, USA. ***@****
BACKGROUND: Currently, screening for ovarian cancer is not recommended for the general population. Targeting women with specific symptoms for screening has been evaluated only recently, because it was believed that symptoms had limited specificity. METHODS: A case-control study of 149 women with ovarian cancer, including 255 women who were in a screening program and 233 women who were referred for pelvic/abdominal ultrasound, was conducted by inviting women to complete a survey of symptoms. Patients were divided randomly into an exploratory group and a confirmatory group. Symptom types, frequency, severity, and duration were compared between cases and controls. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine which factors independently predicted cancer in the exploratory group and then were used to develop a symptom index, which was tested for sensitivity and specificity in the confirmatory group. RESULTS: Symptoms that were associated significantly with ovarian cancer were pelvic/abdominal pain, urinary urgency/frequency, increased abdominal size/bloating, and difficulty eating/feeling full when they were present for 12 days per month. In a logistic regression analysis, symptoms that were associated independently with cancer were pelvic/abdominal pain (P < .001), increased abdominal size/bloating (P12 times per month but were present for 50 years and 86.7% for women age <50 years. CONCLUSIONS: Specific symptoms in conjunction with their frequency and duration were useful in identifying women with ovarian cancer. A symptom index may be useful for identifying women who are at risk.
1: Cancer. 2007 Jan 15;109(2):221-7.
Dr. Annekathryn Goodman,
Thank you so much for your input on my forum I had priviously posted, I am planning on going to college to be able to work in the medical field so things such as science really interest me. The two theories you had stated are to very great ideas for testing for my science fair project! I guess I will inform you a little about science fair, I find a project I find to be interesting and start researching it, and once I have a clear understanding of every aspect I am going to be testing, then I start the testing process. Through the school we would order things such as Ovarian Cancer cells as well as the hormone in the birth control pill or other products that may be purchased. Then I put my purpose ( To see whether or not Ovarian Cancer can be prevented by birth control pills), hypothesis (what I believe the outcome of this project will be, I do not currently have enough information to make an educated hypothesis), procedure (the steps fully explained in great detail of what I did throughout the whole testing process of my project), pictures ( I place pictures on my board of how I had done my testing and the results), data (any data I had found), and finally the conclusion ( fully explains whether or not my purpose had been achieved, if my hypothesis was correct, and also an overall explanation of my data). Once all this is complete, I go to regional fair and present my project randomly to judges that come to my board from about 8 am to 4:30 pm. Then the awards ceremony is held and we can qualify for state, as well as internationals, we can also recieve scholarships. Last year I had done a project on how ear infections cause obesity and I placed third in regionals, and recieved a place as an alternate in internationals, as well as qualified for state. Internationals was held in Reno, Nevada. I had also recieved $1,500 for my trip to Reno, and a $2,000 scholarship.
Thank you again for all of your help. I hope this helps you better understand what the science fair is currently.
Thank you,
Mandy Patrick
Junior science fair participant
Thank you so much for your input on my forum I had priviously posted, I am planning on going to college to be able to work in the medical field so things such as science really interest me. The two theories you had stated are to very great ideas for testing for my science fair project! I guess I will inform you a little about science fair, I find a project I find to be interesting and start researching it, and once I have a clear understanding of every aspect I am going to be testing, then I start the testing process. Through the school we would order things such as Ovarian Cancer cells as well as the hormone in the birth control pill or other products that may be purchased. Then I put my purpose ( To see whether or not Ovarian Cancer can be prevented by birth control pills), hypothesis (what I believe the outcome of this project will be, I do not currently have enough information to make an educated hypothesis), procedure (the steps fully explained in great detail of what I did throughout the whole testing process of my project), pictures ( I place pictures on my board of how I had done my testing and the results), data (any data I had found), and finally the conclusion ( fully explains whether or not my purpose had been achieved, if my hypothesis was correct, and also an overall explanation of my data). Once all this is complete, I go to regional fair and present my project randomly to judges that come to my board from about 8 am to 4:30 pm. Then the awards ceremony is held and we can qualify for state, as well as internationals, we can also recieve scholarships. Last year I had done a project on how ear infections cause obesity and I placed third in regionals, and recieved a place as an alternate in internationals, as well as qualified for state. Internationals was held in Reno, Nevada. I had also recieved $1,500 for my trip to Reno, and a $2,000 scholarship.
Thank you again for all of your help. I hope this helps you better understand what the science fair is currently.
Thank you,
Mandy Patrick
Junior science fair participant
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