Causes Of Uterine Cancer
From WebHealth
[edit] Causes Of Uterine Cancer
In the U.S. there are 35,000 women who are diagnosed with a new case of cancer of the uterus every year and in the same year 4,500 women die of the disease. These statistics have not changed over the last decade. The peak age group for women who develop uterine cancer is age 55 to 60. Only about 5% of cases are reported in women below age 40 (data from Ref. 1 and 2). This table (data from Ref. 1, page 1195 and 1196) may need some explanation:
Until recently these factors were simply noted as an increased risk, but were not thought to be related to each other. Recent eicosanoid research, however, found the missing link (Ref. 3, page 144).
| Factors associated with increased risk of uterine cancer: | |
| obesity | estrogen secreting ovarian tumor |
| late menopause | unopposed estrogen pills or injections |
| never had a baby | syndrome of insulin resistance |
| polycystic ovaries | hypertension |
| diabetes | arthritis |
| hypothyroidism | rare genetic syndromes (moderate risk) |
It appears that the culprit is a high insulin level, which changes the body chemistry. All of the conditions mentioned in the table are in some way related to this syndrome of insuline resistance or "syndrome X", how it was called in the 1980's and early 1990's. Now it has been renamed as "metabolic syndrome". It is the combination of obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, diabetes, and hypertension. High insulin levels can cause many forms of arthritis due to "bad eicosanoids" (for further details see Ref. 3). As Dr. Sears, the inventor of the zone diet, stated the "bad eicosanoids that increase insulin secretion are the same ones that increase the likelihood of heart disease, cancer, and arthritis" (Ref. 3, page 144). A Swedish study (Ref.4) confirmed that there is a high risk of uterine cancer in patients with diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
| "The 'bad eicosanoids' that increase insulin secretion are the same ones that increase the likelihood of heart disease, cancer, and arthritis" (Dr. Sears, Ref. 3, page 144). |
Increased and prolonged estrogen exposure of the endometrial lining of the uterus leads to an increased risk of uterine cancer (late menopause, never had a baby, estrogen secreting tumor and unopposed estrogen as pills or injections). On the other hand, the birth control pill was shown to cut the risk for uterine cancer to about 70% to 80% compared to a woman who does not use hormone pills or injections.
It is known that this is due to the protective effect of progesterone, the other of the two female homones that balance each other out. The same reasoning holds true for postmenopausal hormone replacement, which is usually known under "ERT" meaning "estrogen replacement therapy". For many years physicians paid attention mainly to estrogen, because its lack causes a postmenopausal woman get hot flushes and vaginal dryness. However, when reports of increased uterine cancer rates appeared in the medical literature, research was carried out, which showed that a birth-control pill like combination of small amounts of additional progesterone with estrogen rendered the estrogen risk neutral or similar to the birth control pill. The physician still must watch the side-effects of too much progesterone, which leads to clotting problems including strokes.
Finally there are some rarer cases of genetic traits in certain families where there is a moderate risk of increased uterine cancer rates. For more info on uterine cancer click on "uterine cancer".
| Home page | Cancer overview | Uterine cancer |
| Women's Health |
References:
1. Cancer: Principles &Practice of Oncology.4th edition. Edited by Vincent T. DeVita, Jr. et al. Lippincott, Philadelphia,PA, 1993. Vol. 1. Chapter on gynecological tumors.
2. Cancer: Principles&Practice of Oncology. 5th edition, volume 1. Edited by Vincent T. DeVita, Jr. et al. Lippincott-Raven Publ., Philadelphia,PA, 1997. Chapter on gynecological tumors.
3. B. Sears: "The age-free zone". Regan Books, Harper Collins, 2000.
4. E Weiderpass et al. Cancer Causes Control 2000 Feb;11(2):185-192.
5. S Shibutani et al. Cancer Res 2001 May 15;61(10):3925-3931.
6. DB Fournier et al. Gynecol Oncol 2001 Jun;81(3):366-372.
7. DS McMeekin et al. Gynecol Oncol 2001 May;81(2):273-278.
8. LA Katz et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001 May;184(6):1071-1073.
9. B Bonanni et al. Breast J 2000 Oct;6(5):317-323.
10. MG Jain et al. Eur J Epidemiol 2000;16(10):899-905.
11. Conn's Current Therapy 2004, 56th ed., Copyright © 2004 Elsevier
12. Ferri: Ferri's Clinical Advisor: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment, 2004 ed., Copyright © 2004 Mosby, Inc
