Association Between Obesity and Clinical Outcomes in Gynecologic Cancer

Obesity is a known risk factor for many cancers, including gynecologic malignancies. While the association between obesity and risk for endometrial cancer is well established, the association with clinical outcomes has been more controversial. Most studies demonstrate an association between obesity and worse all-cause survival in endometrial cancer; however, it is unclear whether this effect is cancer-specific or secondary to comorbid conditions. In ovarian cancer, studies have shown an association between decreased survival and pre-diagnosis obesity, but not obesity at diagnosis. There are also studies that suggest a modest negative association between obesity and survival in women with cervical cancer. Comorbid conditions, lack of screening, and suboptimal chemotherapy dosing in obese women may contribute to decreased survival. Further research is necessary to understand the role of obesity on mortality in gynecologic malignancies in order to improve cancer prevention and therapeutic strategies.