Individual Abstract within a Delegate Designed Symposium Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Increased endometrial cancer rates: the link between obesity and endometrial cancer risk  (#4)

Rhett Morton 1 , Marcelo Nascimento 2 , Kathryn Middleton 3 , Shaun McGrath 3 , Anna Kuchel 1 , Danica Cossio 4 , Victoria Donoghue 4 , Karen Sanday 5 , Nathan Dunn 4 , Neal Rawson 4 , Andrea Garrett 1
  1. Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  2. Gold Coast University Hospital, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
  3. Mater Hospital Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. Cancer Alliance Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  5. Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer, Brisbane, Queensland , Australia

Aims: Many studies have observed the relationship between obesity and endometrial cancer. This population-based analysis will examine the overall trends in BMI among Queensland women with endometrial cancer. 

Methods: The source of population data for this study is the Queensland Oncology Repository (QOR), a comprehensive clinical cancer database linking diagnostic information from the Queensland Cancer Register (QCR), with treatment data (radiation therapy, surgery, and intravenous systemic therapy), admissions data for both public and private hospitals, and patient outcome data.  Relevant clinical data including FIGO stage and biomarkers was extracted from the Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer database and linked to QOR.    

BMI data for analysis was obtained from oncology information systems and augmented with obesity codes from hospital admitted patient data. Study population includes Queenslanders diagnosed with endometrial cancer (n=2,925) between 2017-2021. 

Population estimates of the proportion of Queensland women who are overweight/obese are from the Queensland Survey Analytic System. 

Results: The incidence of endometrial cancer among Queensland women has increased by almost 40% over the 20 years from 2001 to 2020 (16.9 per 100,000 to 23.3 per 100,000).  Over a similar period, the estimated proportion of Qld women aged 18+ who are overweight/obese has risen from 43% to 56%. 

The proportion of women with endometrial cancer who were overweight/obese was 68%, higher than the estimated proportion in Queensland (52%-57%). The proportion was highest among women aged under 40 and decreased with increasing age. 

Conclusion:  

Contemporaneous increases in both the incidence of endometrial cancer and obesity levels in Queensland reflect patterns reported elsewhere in the literature. Links between obesity and increased endometrial cancer risk are highest among younger women. General health measures, including dietician referral and obesity prevention programs, may help address the rising incidence of endometrial cancer and other cancers with links to obesity such as breast, colon and pancreatic cancer.