A high body mass index is not a worse prognostic factor for endometrial carcinoma in a predominantly obese population

ABSTRACT

AIM: We investigate if body mass index (BMI, kg × m(2)) is related to clinical-pathological characteristics in primary tumor and disease outcome in endometrial cancer. BACKGROUND: Endometrial cancer incidence is increasing in industrialized countries. High BMI is associated with worse prognosis for many diseases.INTRODUCTION: Endometrial carcinoma is the most common gynecological malignancy in industrialized countries and the incidence has been increasing over the last few decades associated with obesity, however, it is not clear if a high BMI is associated with poor prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In total, 147 women primarily treated for endometrial carcinoma at the Instituto Nacional de Cancerología during 2000-2005 were studied. Body mass index was available for all patients and related to comprehensive clinical and histopathological data. RESULTS: High BMI was related to endometrioid histology and low/intermediate grade, and overweight/obese women had the same survival as the normal/underweight women. In survival analysis adjusting for age, histological subtype and grade, BMI showed no independent prognostic impact. CONCLUSION: High BMI was significantly associated with markers of non-aggressive disease and women with high BMI had the same survival time in univariate analysis (AU)