摘要：Objectives. To review the contributions of the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) to epidemiologic knowledge of endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, and hematologic cancers. Methods. We reviewed selected NHS publications from 1976 to 2016, including publications from consortia and other pooled studies. Results. NHS studies on less common cancers have identified novel risk factors, such as a reduced risk of endometrial cancer in women of advanced age at last birth, and have clarified or prospectively confirmed previously reported associations, including an inverse association between tubal ligation and ovarian cancer. Through biomarker research, the NHS has furthered understanding of the pathogenesis of rare cancers, such as the role of altered metabolism in pancreatic cancer risk and survival. NHS investigations have also demonstrated the importance of the timing of exposure, such as the finding of a positive association of early life body fatness, but not of usual adult body mass index, with non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk. Conclusions. Evidence from the NHS has informed prevention strategies and contributed to improved survival from less common but often lethal malignancies, including endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, and hematologic cancers. The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) is an excellent context in which to elucidate the etiology and survivorship of less common cancers because of its large sample size, long follow-up, frequently updated exposure data, extensive biospecimen resources, and detailed pathologic review of cancer cases. We have highlighted selected NHS contributions to the epidemiology of endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, and hematologic cancer, focusing on findings that identified novel risk factors or markers of early detection, elucidated the importance of timing of exposure, influenced clinical practice or public health policy, or lent clarification to a discrepant literature. We also have noted contributions to consortia and areas of ongoing research. Because of space constraints we could not cover this body of work in detail, cite every relevant study, or include NHS research on additional cancers. For readers interested in additional details about NHS research on less common cancers including the 4 reviewed herein, we have provided a selection of additional references in the online appendix, grouped by cancer site and topic. Details on the NHS design and methods are presented by Bao et al. in this issue (p1573).
