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. 2011 Jan;117(1):93-100.
doi: 10.1097/AOG.0b013e31820205b3.

Lifestyle challenges in endometrial cancer survivorship

Vivian E von Gruenigen  1 , Steven E Waggoner, Heidi E Frasure, Mary Beth Kavanagh, Jeffrey W Janata, Peter G Rose, Kerry S Courneya, Edith Lerner
Affiliations

Lifestyle challenges in endometrial cancer survivorship

Vivian E von Gruenigen et al. Obstet Gynecol. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To examine lifestyle behaviors that may contribute to endometrial cancer survivor morbidity and to identify associations with quality of life.

Methods: Patients with early-stage (I or II) endometrial cancer with a body mass index of at least 25 kg/m2 completed questionnaires on smoking, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) and Short-Form medical outcomes (SF-36) quality-of-life surveys. Behaviors were compared with American Cancer Society 2006 guidelines for cancer survivors (150 min/wk of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; five servings fruit and vegetables per day; no smoking). Effect size (d) was calculated for the difference in means between meeting and not meeting guidelines (d=0.5 moderate effect).

Results: A total of 120 participants were enrolled. Of those, 43% had hypertension, 35% osteoarthritis, 33% metabolic syndrome, 21% type 2 diabetes mellitus, and 93% abdominal obesity. Only 12% of participants were meeting physical activity guidelines. Fifteen percent reported five or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day; mean intake was 2.6 servings per day. Seventy-four percent of participants were nonsmokers. Only 1% of participants met all three American Cancer Society guidelines; 22% met none of the recommendations. The emotional well-being (mean 17.4 [±4.1] compared with 20.1 [±4.1]; d=0.66) and fatigue scores (mean 34.6 [±9.5] compared with 40.5 [±9.6]; d=0.62) indicate that those who do not meet the guidelines had lower emotional well-being and increased fatigue.

Conclusion: Endometrial cancer survivors have unhealthy lifestyles that put them at risk for morbidity. This survivor group should be offered multi-behavioral lifestyle interventions after diagnosis.

Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT 00420979 and NCT00732173.

Level of evidence: II.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00420979 NCT00732173.

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References

    1. von Gruenigen VE, Gil KM, Frasure HE, Jenison EL, Hopkins MP. The impact of obesity and age on quality of life in gynecologic surgery. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2005;193:1369–75.
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    1. von Gruenigen VE, Gibbons HE, Kavanagh MB, Janata JW, Lerner E, Courneya KS. A randomized trial of a lifestyle intervention in obese endometrial cancer survivors: quality of life outcomes and mediators of behavior change. Health Qual Life Outcomes 2009;7:17.
    1. von Gruenigen VE, Courneya KS, Gibbons HE, Kavanagh MB, Waggoner SE, Lerner E. Feasibility and effectiveness of a lifestyle intervention program in obese endometrial cancer patients: a randomized trial. Gynecol Oncol 2008;109:19–26.
    1. von Gruenigen VE, Tian C, Frasure H, Waggoner S, Keys H, Barakat RR. Treatment effects, disease recurrence, and survival in obese women with early endometrial carcinoma: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study. Cancer 2006;107:2786–91.

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