Excess weight doubles the risk of uterine cancer

Cancer, along with cardiovascular diseases, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, among others, is included in the category of so-called non-communicable diseases.

Together, these pathologies cause 41 million deaths each year, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO). However, many of them can be prevented, with a healthy lifestyle. Among them, avoiding smoking, physical activity and taking care of food could be said to be the pillars of better health.

Now, the conclusions of a recent study conducted by the University of Bristol, in the United Kingdom, found that for every five additional units of body mass index (BMI), the risk that a woman develop uterine cancer increases by 88%.

The figure is striking because it is higher than most previous studies had suggested and reflects the state of weight throughout life rather than a snapshot over time, used in most other works.

For the research, which was funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) and published in the journal BMC Medicine, scientists analyzed genetic samples from around 120,000 women from Australia, Belgium , Germany, Poland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, of which about 13,000 had uterine cancer. This large statistical analysis is one of the first studies of its kind to look at the effect of increased lifelong BMI on the risk of uterine cancer.

“Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in high-income countries,” the authors said in the publication of their conclusions. Elevated body mass index is an established modifiable risk factor for this condition and is estimated to have a greater effect on endometrial cancer risk than any other site of cancer.”

Researchers looked at markers of 14 traits that can link obesity and uterine cancer. They found two hormones, fasting insulin and testosterone, that increased the risk of uterine cancer.

By identifying how obesity increases the risk, for example through hormones, experts hope that in the future drugs can be used to reduce or increase the level of specific hormones in people at higher risk of developing cancer.

Emma Hazelwood is the lead author of the study and acknowledged that the work “is an interesting first step on how genetic testing could be used to discover exactly how obesity causes cancer and what can be done to address it.”

“The links between obesity and uterine cancer are well known, but this is one of the largest studies that has investigated exactly why it occurs at the molecular level,” he analyzed. We look forward to more research that explores how we can now use this information to help reduce the risk of cancer in people struggling with obesity.”

For her part, Dr. Julie Sharp, Head of Health Information at Cancer Research UK, added: “Cancer Research UK has been leading the way in discovering links between obesity and cancer for years. Studies like this reinforce the fact that being overweight or obese is the second most important cause of cancer in the UK and can help us begin to identify why. This will play a critical role in discovering how to prevent and treat cancer in the future.”

For her, “more research is needed to investigate exactly what treatments and medications might be used to control cancer risk among people struggling with obesity.”

And noting that “it is already known that being overweight or obese increases the risk of developing 13 different types of cancer,” he stressed that “to reduce the risk of cancer, it is important to maintain a healthy weight by eating a balanced diet and staying active.”

In 2020, 417,367 new cases of endometrial cancer were diagnosed and 97,370 women died from this cause worldwide. In Argentina, it ranks third in incidence and represents the leading cause of death from gynecological cancer.

Unlike other cancers where incidence rates have declined in the last two decades, the overall incidence of endometrial cancer continues to rise. And everything indicates that the main measure of prevention is within reach of whoever wants to take it.

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