Obesity and Gynecologic Cancer Etiology and Survival

Abstract

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States and elsewhere has increased dramatically in recent decades. It has long been known that obese women have an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer, but recent studies suggest this association is strongest for the most common low-grade endometrioid endometrial cancers and weaker for the other histologic subtypes. There are insufficient data to assess whether obesity affects endometrial cancer-specific survival or whether the relation with all-cause mortality is similar to that seen in the general population. Recent data suggest obesity also increases risk of ovarian cancer, although it may not influence risk of the high-grade serous cancers that account for the majority of ovarian cancer deaths, and that it is also associated with poorer outcomes. There is currently insufficient evidence to draw any clear conclusions regarding the relation between obesity and risk of/survival from other gynecologic cancers although there are suggestions that obesity may increase risk of cervical cancer, particularly adenocarcinoma, and perhaps vulvar cancer. Possible mechanisms whereby obesity might influence gynecologic cancer risk and survival include: its strong association with endogenous estrogen levels among postmenopausal women, its effects on glucose metabolism, its effects on the wide range of adipocytokines and inflammatory mediators that are produced by adipose tissue and altered in concentration among obese individuals, and its potential effects on patient management, particularly with regard to chemotherapy dosing.