the vaginal microbiota would be a good indicator during screening

Endometrial cancer – or cancer of the uterus (not to be confused with cancer of the cervix) – is the second most common gynecological cancer in France after breast cancer, and the most widespread of the female reproductive system. In fact, the endometrium is the lining of the wall of the uterus, the part of the uterus where the embryo develops during pregnancy.

With 7,275 new cases in 2012, cancer of this tissue is the 4^e cause of cancer in French women and also develops after menopause. Diagnosed at an early stage, the prognosis for this pathology is quite good. Unfortunately, in the absence of characteristic symptoms, the average age of patients at the time of diagnosis is 68 years.

The vagina and its ecosystem

These data could improve, according to a recent study by American researchers from the Mayo Clinic of Rochester who discovered that the vaginal microbiota, the set of microorganisms that inhabit the vagina, could facilitate the detection of endometrial cancer. Their results were published in the journal Nature.

Thirty volunteers who underwent a hysterectomy following an endometrial cancer or who are in good health, were recruited. “We sought to examine the impact of factors such as postmenopause,body mass index and the vaginal pH in the microbiome in the absence of endometrial cancer and how these could contribute to the signature of the microbiome in this form of cancer ”, explains doctor Marina Walther-Antonio, who led the study . The researchers therefore studied the main known risk factors for the disease, namely menopause and obesity, and discovered that a high vaginal pH was also at risk. Doctors could therefore potentially detect the disease by measuring the pH of their patients and intervene before the cancer has spread too much.

What is vaginal pH?

To better understand, remember that the vagina is an acid organ. The hydrogen potential, denoted pH, allows this acidity to be measured. Many events can change the pH balance such as menstruation, gender, hormones or even antibiotics. Menopause can therefore lower estrogen levels and cause vaginal pH to rise, which researchers say is a risk factor for endometrial cancer.

“Menopause is a key factor in the risk of endometrial cancer. We plan to discuss applications possible translational aspects of this knowledge, which could bring new approaches to deal with current disparities in material in endometrial cancer ”, concluded Marina Walther-Antonio.

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