weight contributes to cervical cancer
Sep. 12th, 2003 11:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
novapsycheStudy Links Obesity to Cervical Cancer
A new study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute suggests being overweight could double a woman's risk of developing one type of cervical cancer, known as cervical adenocarcinoma. Although infection with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary risk factor for cervical cancer, the latest research could help shed light on why some women with HPV develop cervical cancer while others don't.
[...] Lacey and colleagues compared 124 women with cervical adenocarcinoma to 139 similar women with squamous cell cervical cancer, and 307 similar women without cervical cancer. The researchers calculated their body mass index, or BMI, a ratio of height to weight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight; a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI of 30 or above is considered obese.
Women with a BMI of 25 or higher had about twice the risk of getting cervical adenocarcinoma as women of normal weight. Weight did not seem to influence whether women developed squamous cell carcinoma.
The researchers weren't certain why only adenocarcinoma seemed to be influenced by obesity. It could be that hormonal factors play a greater role in this type of cervical cancer, as they are thought to do in endometrial cancer. However, more research would be needed to make that determination.
Another theory is that screening differences play a role, Lacey said.
A new study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute suggests being overweight could double a woman's risk of developing one type of cervical cancer, known as cervical adenocarcinoma. Although infection with certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the primary risk factor for cervical cancer, the latest research could help shed light on why some women with HPV develop cervical cancer while others don't.
[...] Lacey and colleagues compared 124 women with cervical adenocarcinoma to 139 similar women with squamous cell cervical cancer, and 307 similar women without cervical cancer. The researchers calculated their body mass index, or BMI, a ratio of height to weight. A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal weight; a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI of 30 or above is considered obese.
Women with a BMI of 25 or higher had about twice the risk of getting cervical adenocarcinoma as women of normal weight. Weight did not seem to influence whether women developed squamous cell carcinoma.
The researchers weren't certain why only adenocarcinoma seemed to be influenced by obesity. It could be that hormonal factors play a greater role in this type of cervical cancer, as they are thought to do in endometrial cancer. However, more research would be needed to make that determination.
Another theory is that screening differences play a role, Lacey said.