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≥25 kg/m2) and overweight (23 kg/m2≤BMI b25 kg/m2)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 b23 kg/m2) women. That is, an increment of 1 kg/m2 caused an 18% increase in the endometrioid uterine cancer risk (OR=1.181, 95% CI=1.155–1.207).However, therewas 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 nonobesewomenwere compared (crude HR=0.82, 95% CI=0.40–1.66). Furthermore, therewas a significant trend toward a better prognosis at increased increments of BMI (p for trendb0.001), 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.