Obese women 10 times more likely to get uterine cancer, UAE experts say

The risk of contracting endometrial cancer increases with a heavier body mass index and associated health complications that are prevalent here, said Dr Saad Aswad, a consultant gynaecologist at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain.

About 38 per cent of women in Abu Dhabi are classed as obese. Health experts have warned that more fat tissue in the body can increase a woman’s risk for developing endometrial cancer. Ryan Carter / The NationalShow less

DUBAI // Obese women with diabetes and hypertension are 10 times more likely to get uterine cancer.

There has been a surge in cases at just one hospital in Al Ain alone and health experts called on women – particularly those over 40 – to get checked earlier to eradicate the disease, which is curable.

The risk of contracting endometrial cancer, or uterine cancer, increases with a heavier body mass index and associated health complications that are prevalent here, said Dr Saad Aswad, a consultant gynaecologist at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain.

About 38 per cent of women in Abu Dhabi are classed as obese, with cases of diabetes and hypertension frequently going hand in hand.

“Over the last 10 years we have noticed a significant increase in the numbers of endometrial cancer,” said Dr Aswad, speaking on the sidelines of the Obs-Gyne conference yesterday.

Dr Aswad said that in Tawam Hospital alone, there were 50 new cases of endometrial cancer last year. This compares with about eight cases in 1994.

“So the numbers are really increasing,” said Dr Aswad, chair of the conference, the largest of its type in the Middle East.

“If you have obesity, diabetes and hypertension, you are maybe increasing the risk 10-fold.”

While the exact prevalence of endometrial cancer in the UAE is unknown, in the United States about 53,000 cases are diagnosed a year, said Dr Nadeem Abu Rusum, director of minimally invasive surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.

“It is the most common gynaecological cancer,” said Dr Rusum, one of the speakers.

“It is becoming more of a problem because it is linked to obesity.”

More fat tissue in the body can increase oestrogen levels.

Having more oestrogen can increase a women’s risk for developing endometrial cancer.

This can be especially problematic in the UAE where 32.7 per cent of the population are classed as obese, putting the country in 22nd place out of 191 nations, according to the CIA handbook.

In Abu Dhabi, about 38 per cent of women are classed as obese, according to the Health Authority – Abu Dhabi.

Dr Rusum said as more women become obese, cases of endometrial cancer would increase.

The disease is categorised into four stages and stage one has a survival rate of about 90 per cent, said Dr Rusum, but the more advanced the cancer, the harder it is to treat.

There is a lack of awareness about endometrial cancer, the risk factors and the warning signs because it is a rarer form of the disease, he said.

“All gynaecological cancers are considered ‘orphan cancers’,” he said.

“They are considered orphan to prostate or breast cancer. If you combine all the gynaecological cancers they are less than breast cancer so they do not get much attention.”

A strong indicator of endometrial cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding and the risk increases as the woman gets older, he said.

Most cases occur in women who are over the age of 40.

“So for someone who is around menopause or after menopause and they have irregular bleeding – it should be a warning sign,” said Dr Rusum.

If left untreated endometrial cancer can lead to death, he said.

“It will eventually kill people because it goes to the lung, to the abdomen, to the liver and to the pelvis.”

However, it is a curable disease, he said. “If you catch it early, a hysterectomy cures the majority of patients.”

Dr Rusum urged women to get checked earlier and to minimise the risk by controlling obesity and diabetes.

Other risk factors for endometrial cancer include using the breast cancer drug tamoxifen, a family history of the disease or a history of breast cancer or ovarian cancer.

Women who have never given birth are thought to be at a higher risk because they have a higher level of the hormone progesterone.

The Obs-Gyne exhibition and conference in Dubai concludes tomorrow.