一项新研究显示，对孩子进行母乳喂养的母亲，患卵巢癌的风险较低。而且喂母乳的时间越长，对母体免于患这种癌症的保护也就越大。

众所周知，卵巢癌以“无声杀手”而著称，很多患者仅出现如肿胀感等不明确症状，往往在诊断出来时病情已相当严重。在这项新的研究中，澳大利亚科学家把493名被诊断出患卵巢癌的妇女，与相似年龄的472名健康女性进行了对照研究。每位妇女都回答了有几个孩子，以及每个孩子接受母乳喂养的时间有多长等问题。研究结果显示，与对孩子进行母乳喂养不到7个月的妇女相比，那些让孩子接受母乳喂养至少13个月的妇女，患卵巢癌的几率减少了63%。研究还发现，母亲所生的孩子越多，这种效果就越明显。

发表在最近出版的《美国临床营养杂志》上的这项研究称，那些有3个孩子，且喂母乳时间总共达31个月以上的妇女，要比母乳喂养不到10个月的妇女患此癌的几率低91%。研究人员指出，过去有许多研究已经证明，母乳喂养可降低母亲患乳腺癌的风险，而这项新研究为母乳喂养对母亲的健康有益这一观点增加了新的佐证。

Ovarian cancer risk is reduced by prolonged lactation: a case-control study in southern China

Background: Ovarian cancer is an important neoplasm that is difficult to diagnose and treat; therefore, prevention is the preferable strategy. Growing evidence indicates a protective effect of breastfeeding on ovarian cancer risk.

Objective: The objective was to investigate the association between lactation and the risk of ovarian cancer among southern Chinese women.

Design: A case-control study was undertaken in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, between August 2006 and July 2008. A validated and reliable questionnaire was used to obtain information on the months of lactation and number of children breastfed in a sample of 493 incident ovarian cancer patients and 472 hospital-based controls (mean age: 59 y). Logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between breastfeeding and the risk of ovarian cancer.

Results: Significant inverse dose-response relations were found for both duration of lactation and the number of children breastfed. The adjusted ORs were 0.09 (95% CI: 0.04, 0.19) for women with ≥31 mo of total lactation and those with ≤10 mo of lactation and 0.38 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.55) for women with ≥3 children breastfed compared with those with one child breastfed.