Dr Markman on the Association Between Obesity and Incidence of Endometrial Cancer

Maurie Markman, MD, physician, president, Medicine and Science at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, discusses findings from an analysis presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting evaluating the association between the obesity and the development of endometrial cancer.

The analysis utilized two comprehensive national databases. The first was the United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) from 2001 to 2018 to evaluate trends in endometrial cancer. Second, data on obesity and bodyweight were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database from 1988 to 2018.

Findings from the analysis demonstrated a relationship between the increasing incidence of endometrial cancer and obesity, disproportionately affecting younger women and women from minority populations.

Notably, the annual increases in endometrial cancer varied by ethnicity. Hispanic women showed an average annual percent change (AAPC) of the incidence of endometrial cancer of 1.37% increase and an AAPC in the incidence of obesity of 3.45%. In Black women, these respective AAPCs were a 1.30% increase and 3.89%.

Regarding age, the incidence of endometrial cancer has increased among younger populations. In women between 20 and 29 years of age, the AAPC of the incidence of endometrial cancer was 4.48% annual increase, translating to a 137.5% increase since 2001. The AAPC for endometrial cancer was 3.00% for women between 30 and 39 years of age, translating to a 71.8% increase since 2001. Within the 30 to 39 age group, the AAPC for obesity was 5.28% for Black women, 3.15% for Hispanic women, and 4.91% for White women.

Markman notes that although the rates of other types of cancer have seen a reduction, the incidence of endometrial cancer in the United States has continued to increase. Calling on society as a whole to help combat the obesity epidemic facing millions of Americans, Markman explains that while other malignancies in the United States have experienced a reduction in numbers, endometrial cancer has shown consistent growth.