BENGALURU: While uterine cancer is one of the top five cancers affecting women in Karnataka, obesity-driven cases have become more prevalent among menopausal women. Dr Rohit R Ranade, Consultant Gynaecologist and Robotic Surgeon, at Narayana Health City, said, “We see that 70 percent of women suffering from uterine cancer are obese now. Over the years, a rise of 25-30 percent has also been seen in our outpatient department.” In 2016-17, they would see one such case in a month which has increased to 3-4 women weighing over 100 kg now.
While describing the condition of one such patient, Dr Rohit said a woman weighed 136 kg when she arrived at the hospital and was suffering from other morbidities like heart-related issues induced by lifestyle issues like obesity.
Globally, uterine cancer is one of the top cancers affecting six lakh-plus women. In Karnataka, 4.2 percent of all cases in women are of uterine cancer. Over the last few years, doctors have noted significant lifestyle changes in people leading to a rise in all kinds of cancers. A study focusing on the association of obesity with survival outcomes in patients with cancer observed that increased BMI is associated with an increased risk of multiple cancer types. In addition, obesity and being overweight may increase cancer mortality too.
They noted a more rapid increase in obesity among adult cancer survivors compared with the general population. Dr Suresh Babu, a Medical Oncologist, at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO), said that along with obesity, nulliparity (the state of a woman where she has never given birth), is another reason resulting in a rise. Since the number of cases is rising among younger women too, he urged them to be watchful of symptoms like abnormal bleeding and to seek medical intervention at the earliest.
Even while undergoing an ultrasound procedure, women must see if there is an abnormal thickness in the uterus lining. Beyond uterine cancer, obesity has also been linked to cause oesophageal, gastric, colon and rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, postmenopausal breast, ovarian, kidney, meningioma and thyroid cancer, and multiple myeloma.