The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2013, more than 49,000 women will be diagnosed with uterine cancer in the United States, more than ovarian and cervical cancers combined. One in six women diagnosed with uterine cancer, or more than 8 thousand, will die from the illness.
Ninety-five percent of all uterine cancers begin in the endometrium, the lining of the uterus. The new report estimates that 29,500 of these new cases could be prevented, if women got at least 30 minutes of daily exercise a day, and worked to keep their weight down.
Endometrial cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the womb’s lining, which can result in tumors, and which can travel through the blood and invade other organs. Though the causes are not entirely understood, the following are risk factors:
- Thickening of the endometrium
- Obesity
- Never having had children
- Menstruation before age 12
- Menopause after age 55
- Estrogen therapy
- Family history of uterine cancer (whether your mother or your daughter had the disease)
- Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that increases the risk of colorectal cancers
(Many women who have risk factors never develop endometrial cancer, and many who don’t have risk factors do get the illness.)
Endometrial cancer is more closely linked to obesity than all other cancers associated with being overweight. Excess body fat is believed to pose a risk because fat produces hormones that can promote cancer growth. Body fat can also promote chronic inflammation, which can encourage development of cancerous cells.
Most endometrial cancer cases are diagnosed in women 60 years and older. The disease is mostly caused by excessive and prolonged stimulation of the endometrium by estrogens (a group of female hormones). Obesity is associated with increased estrogen production by fatty tissue in post-menopausal women, as well as with insulin production and insulin resistance, and chronic inflammation. All these factors can have an effect on endometrial cells, but they can be greatly modified by the simple act of exercising regularly. In addition to burning fat, regular exercise has been shown to decrease estrogen and insulin levels in the body (insulin is a hormone that causes sugar to be absorbed from the blood by body tissues).
The review found that certain food choices can decrease, or increase, a woman’s risk of endometrial cancer. One daily cup of coffee cuts the risk down by 7 percent, whether the coffee is caffeinated or decaffeinated. This is believed to be because of powerful antioxidants present in coffee, which can prevent DNA damage, improve insulin sensitivity and slow absorption of glucose (sugar) by the intestine. (A high-sugar diet has been previously linked to different cancers.) But watch out for drinking too much coffee, as recent studies have found that drinking more than three daily cups of coffee is associated with a higher risk of death from all causes.
The study also found that eating a lot of foods with a “high glycemic index” — foods that are high in sugars or processed grains — seems to increase the risk of endometrial cancer, by raising glucose and insulin levels in the blood.
The glycemic index (GI) is defined as the amount by which one gram of carbohydrate in a food raises a person’s blood glucose level right after the food is eaten, compared to consumption of pure glucose, which is given a glycemic index of “100.” High-glycemic-index foods raise blood glucose quickly, whereas low-glycemic-index foods are converted to sugar more gradually.
The following are foods with low, medium and high glycemic indexes (source: American Diabetes Association) —
Foods with low GI (55 or less):
- 100% stone-ground whole wheat or pumpernickel bread
- Oatmeal, oat bran
- Pasta, barley, bulgar
- Sweet potato, corn, yams, lima/butter beans, peas, legumes and lentils
- Most fruits, including blueberries, strawberries, apples, apricots, peaches, grapefruit
- Non-starchy vegetables
Food with medium GI (56-69):
- Whole wheat, rye and pita breads
- Quick oats
- Brown, wild or basmati rice
Foods with high GI (70 or more):
- White bread or bagels
- Corn flakes, puffed rice, bran flakes, instant oatmeal
- Short-grain white rice, rice noodles, macaroni and cheese from mix
- Russet potato, pumpkin
- Pretzels, rice cakes, popcorn
- melons and pineapple
Symptoms of Uterine Cancer
Some common symptoms of uterine cancer are excessive vaginal bleeding, pain during urination or intercourse, and pain in the pelvic area. These symptoms can be from uterine cancer or from other illnesses. The best thing for a woman to do, if she has any of these symptoms, is to get checked by her doctor right away, so that detection and treatment of any condition that’s present can be done as early as possible.
By Lisa Pecos