© 2007 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors Commentary

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association. The article by Abenhaim and colleagues in this issuepresents an interesting case–control study that at-tempts to determine the risk of ovarian cancer associ-ated with health care use by comparing the medical history of women with and without ovarian cancer.1 In this large study, 668 women with ovarian cancer and 721 healthy age-matched control subjects were interviewed about their demographic characteristics and their medical, dietary and family history during a 5-year period. Participants were also asked to com-plete a self-administered dietary questionnaire. Abenhaim and colleagues report an increased risk of ovar-ian cancer among women who had no medical visits or pelvic examinations and who had no regular health care provider during the study period. These findings were most apparent among postmenopausal women. The authors rightfully detail the limitations of their study, especially with regards to stud