| The following article features coverage from the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. Click here to read more of Cancer Therapy Advisor‘s conference coverage. |
An increase in endometrial cancer incidence among young adult women in the United States coincides with an increase in the prevalence of obesity in this population, according to researchers.
They presented their findings in a poster at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
The researchers noted that there is evidence linking endometrial cancer and obesity in postmenopausal women, but the relationship between obesity and endometrial cancer in younger women is unclear.
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To investigate this relationship, the researchers analyzed data on adult women, aged 20 to 39 years, from the US Cancer Statistics database spanning the period from 2001 to 2017. The researchers also analyzed data on adult women, aged 18 to 34 years, from 2 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1988-1994 and 1999-2014).
There were 24,446 cases of endometrial cancer among young adult women from 2001 to 2017, and the incidence of endometrial cancer increased over time.
Among women aged 20 to 29 years, the incidence of endometrial cancer increased from 0.6 per 100,000 in 2001 to 1.2 per 100,000 in 2017 (annual percent change [APC], 3.6; 95% CI, 2.9-4.4).
Among women aged 30 to 39 years, the incidence of endometrial cancer increased from 4.6 per 100,000 in 2001 to 7.5 per 100,000 in 2017 (APC, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.7-3.3).
The data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys revealed a significant increase in the prevalence of obesity among women aged 18 to 34 years from 1988 to 2014.
The incidence of endometrial cancer and the prevalence of obesity were both higher among Hispanic women compared with women from other racial and ethnic groups.
“The significant increasing incidence in endometrial cancer among young adult women is in accordance with the concurrent increasing prevalence in obesity in young girls and women in the US,” the researchers wrote in their poster. “This indicates that endometrial cancer screening might need to be considered at a much earlier age among patients with abnormal bleeding and certain ethnic populations.”
Disclosures: This research was supported by the National Cancer Institute. The study authors reported having no disclosures.
Read more of Cancer Therapy Advisor’s coverage of the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting by visiting the conference page.
Reference
Guo F, Levine L, Berenson A. Trends in the incidence of endometrial cancer among young women in the United States, 2001 to 2017. J Clin Oncol. 2021;39:(suppl 15; abstr 5578). doi:10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.5578
