Every year, approximately 2,000 women in the Netherlands are told that they have uterine cancer. This makes it the most common gynecological cancer in the Western world. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is usually used to determine whether there is overweight. However, BMI does not look at fat distribution or muscle mass.
Hannah Donkers’ research shows that women with a lot of visceral fat (fat around your organs) and obesity in combination with little muscle mass have a higher chance of dying from uterine cancer. She therefore advocates a broader view of obesity: “By not only looking at BMI, but also at the fat distribution and muscle mass, we can better guide patients and offer a specialized training program with nutritional advice. Hopefully this will allow us to improve the survival rates of these women. ”
Chasing America
Due to the Pap smears and HPV vaccination, cervical cancer is well known, while uterine cancer is more common. In addition, many people do not know that obesity is the greatest risk factor for developing uterine cancer and that it also reduces survival. It is often known that obesity causes high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, but the relationship with uterine cancer is not yet known. “Although not as many people in the Netherlands are (morbid) obesity as in America, things are moving in the same direction. The obesity pandemic may well cause more healthcare costs and problems than the Covid-19 pandemic, ”says Donkers. What is her advice? “If you have abnormal vaginal bleeding, get examined. Especially if you are overweight. If you get it early, uterine cancer is easier to treat. “
Hopeful future
Donkers’ research also shows that there is a hopeful prospect: a new diagnostic method. A urine test may be able to speed up and facilitate the diagnosis of uterine cancer in the future. By looking in the urine for the presence of microRNA, small particles of a person’s genetic material, uterine cancer may be detected. These specific RNA particles play an important role in the development of obesity and are seen in many different diseases, including cancer. Such a test can take away a lot of stress for this target group, because biopsies or tedious examinations are no longer necessary.
By: Nationale Zorggids
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