Obesity risk awareness in women with endometrial cancer

Abstract

Purpose: To assess whether women with endometrial cancer could accurately classify their weight and identify the association between obesity and risk of endometrial, breast, and colon cancers.

Methods: This was an IRB-approved (Project No. 14-0075), survey-based cross-sectional study of women ages 18-80 years with a diagnosis of endometrial cancer. Patients were at least 6 months from hysterectomy and 3 months from chemotherapy or radiation. Statistical analysis was completed using Fisher's exact test, T test, ANOVA, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, or Kruskal-Wallis test. P values were two-tailed with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results: 140 women met inclusion criteria, and 133 questionnaires (95.0%) were completed. Mean age was 63.2 years (range 35-80), and mean BMI was 33.4 kg/m² (range 17.6-72.2). Patients were primarily Caucasian (88.7%) and reported education beyond high school (67.8%). Among women with BMI 30.0-34.99 kg/m², 12.9% perceived themselves as obese, compared to 32.0% of women with BMI 35.0-39.99 kg/m², and 72.7% of women with BMI >40.0 kg/m². Ability to correctly classify weight correlated significantly with education level (P = 0.02). Less than half of women identified obesity as a risk factor for breast (49.6%), colon (48.1%), and endometrial cancer (44.4%). 77% of all patients had discussed weight with their primary care doctor, and 38% had discussed weight with their oncologist (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The majority of obese women with endometrial cancer surveyed were unable to accurately classify their weight. Given the inconsistency between patient weight and perception of cancer risk, this represents an opportunity for gynecologic oncologists to educate their patients about weight control.

Keywords: Cancer; Endometrial cancer; Obesity; Oncology; Patient education.