Urban and rural differences in characteristics of ovarian cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was evaluation of the urban and rural differences in ovarian cancer patients' characteristics at the moment of diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study comprised women with ovarian cancer diagnosed and treated in the Division of Gynecological Surgery of Poznan University of Medical Sciences between 2004-2011. The patients were divided into 3 groups based on their place of residence: 1) patients residing in large cities (over 50,000 people), 2) inhabitants of small towns (below 50,000 people), 3) women from rural areas. RESULTS Among the studied groups of patients no differences were found in the FIGO stage at diagnosis (p=0.453), histological grade of the tumour (p=0.916), histopathological types of ovarian neoplasms (p=0.431), median tumour volume (p=0.855), presence of fluid in the pouch of Douglas (p=0.872). Women with ovarian cancer residing in large cities had lower median parity (p=0.0005), higher education level status (p=0.0001), and experienced menarche at an earlier age (p=0.039). There were no differences in the use of oral contraception (p=0.93) and body mass index (p=0.23) between the women included in the study. CONCLUSIONS There were no differences in advancement of ovarian cancer at the moment of diagnosis or in tumour type and size between women residing large cities, small towns and rural areas. Several ovarian cancer risk factors were more common among ovarian cancer patients living in urbanized areas.