Metabolic Syndrome A Significant Risk Factor in Endometrial Cancer, Study Finds

A collection of health risk factors known as the "metabolic syndrome" may boost older women's risk of endometrial cancer, even if they're not overweight or obese, a new study suggests.

Metabolic syndrome refers to a group of health conditions occurring together that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. These conditions include high blood pressure, low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, high levels of triglyceride fats, overweight and obesity, and high fasting blood sugar.

"We found that a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was associated with higher risk of endometrial cancer, and that metabolic syndrome appeared to increase risk regardless of whether the woman was considered obese," Britton Trabert, an investigator in the division of cancer epidemiology and genetics at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, said in an American Association for Cancer Research news release.

The study's design only allowed the investigators to find an association between metabolic syndrome and endometrial cancer risk. The researchers couldn't prove whether or not metabolic syndrome directly causes this cancer of the uterine lining.

Link to the complete article on MedlinePlus: http://1.usa.gov/1CrEgii