Role of body mass index as a risk and prognostic factor of endometrioid uterine cancer in Korean women

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the role of body mass index (BMI) as a risk and prognostic factor of endometrioid uterine cancer in Korean women.

Methods: The records of 937 patients with endometrioid uterine cancer treated between 2000 and 2006 in Korea were reviewed. To determine the disease risk by BMI, four age-matched controls were recruited from healthy women (1-year age group).

Results: The obese (BMI > or =25 kg/m(2)) and overweight (23 kg/m(2)< or = BMI <25 kg/m(2)) women had an increased risk for endometrioid uterine cancer (OR=3.161, 95% CI=2.655-3.763 and OR=1.536, 95% CI=1.260-1.873, respectively) compared to the non-obese (BMI <23 kg/m(2)) women. That is, an increment of 1 kg/m(2) caused an 18% increase in the endometrioid uterine cancer risk (OR=1.181, 95% CI=1.155-1.207). However, there was no difference in overall survival according to the BMI-based subgroups (log-rank=0.366, p=0.8328). The crude Cox model showed that obesity was not associated with the patients' overall survival when the obese and non-obese women were compared (crude HR=0.82, 95% CI=0.40-1.66). Furthermore, there was a significant trend toward a better prognosis at increased increments of BMI (p for trend<0.001), but this was not found in the multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: A high BMI was a significant risk factor for endometrioid uterine cancer in an Asian population. However, it was not associated with overall survival, in spite of the earlier tumor stage of the obese women.