Jobs that may raise the risk of ovarian cancer REVEALED – so do you work in one of them?

Hairdressers, beauticians and accountants may have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, a study suggests.

New research indicates that working for 10 or more years in certain job roles may come with a heightened risk of the disease.

Those working in sales, retail, clothing and construction industries may also be vulnerable, scientists said.

And they suggest exposure to particular chemical agents, such as those found in talcum powder and bleaches, could be the reason.

Scientists say the increased risk could be due to exposure to particular chemical agents, such as those found in talcum powder and bleaches

Researchers from the University of Montreal analysed data on women aged 18 to 79.

They compared 491 women who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer with 879 women who didn’t have the disease.

A range of information was collected from all the participants, including their employment history.

Analysis, published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, revealed working for 10 or more years as a hairdresser, barber, beautician or in related roles was associated with a three-fold higher risk of ovarian cancer.

Working in construction was also linked to a near tripling in risk, while employment for a decade or more in accountancy was associated with twice the risk.

Similarly, long term work in the clothing industry, including embroidery, was associated with an 85 per cent heightened risk of developing the disease while working in sales or retail was associated with higher risks, respectively, of 45 per cent and 59 per cent.

Analysis, published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, revealed working for 10 or more years as a hairdresser, barber, beautician or in related roles was associated with a three-fold higher risk of ovarian cancer

The team said hairdressers, beauticians and related workers were the jobs most frequently exposed to 13 chemical agents including ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, organic dyes and pigments, and bleaches.

It’s not clear, however, if the link to ovarian cancer is driven by a single agent, a combination, or other workplace factors, they said.

The team added that white-collar and professional occupations, such as accountancy, could have a higher ovarian cancer risk due to workers being sedentary most of the day.

Meanwhile, they discovered that women working as professional nurses appeared to have a decreased risk of ovarian cancer.

‘We observed associations suggesting that women who had worked in accountancy, hairdressing, sales, sewing and related occupations and the retail trade and construction industries may have increased risks,’ they wrote.

‘Elevated risks were observed for high cumulative exposure to 18 agents for which a large proportion of occupations exposed to 12 of these agents were hairdressing related.

‘Women working in hairdressing-related occupations are exposed to hundreds of chemicals at high concentrations, including hair dyes, shampoos, conditioners, styling and cosmetic products.’

WHY OVARIAN CANCER IS CALLED A ‘SILENT KILLER’

About 80 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease.

At the time of diagnosis, 60 percent of ovarian cancers will have already spread to other parts of the body, bringing the five-year survival rate down to 30 percent from 90 percent in the earliest stage.  

It’s diagnosed so late because its location in the pelvis, according to Dr Ronny Drapkin, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who’s been studying the disease for more than two decades.

‘The pelvis is like a bowl, so a tumor there can grow quite large before it actually becomes noticeable,’ Dr Drapkin told Daily Mail Online.

The first symptoms to arise with ovarian cancer are gastrointestinal because tumors can start to press upward.

When a patient complains of gastrointestinal discomfort, doctors are more likely to focus on diet change and other causes than suggest an ovarian cancer screening.

Dr Drapkin said it’s usually not until after a patient endures persistent gastrointestinal symptoms that they will receive a screening that reveals the cancer.

‘Ovarian cancer is often said to be a silent killer because it doesn’t have early symptoms, when in fact it does have symptoms, they’re just very general and could be caused by other things,’ he said.

‘One of the things I tell women is that nobody knows your body as well as you do. If you feel something isn’t right, something’s probably not right.’