Causes
Of Uterine CancerIn the U.S. there are 35,000 women who are diagnosed
with a new case of cancer of the uterus every year and in the same year 4,500
women die of the disease. These statistics have not changed over the last decade.
The peak age group for women who develop uterine cancer is age 55 to 60. Only
about 5% of cases are reported in women below age 40 (data from Ref. 1 and 2).
This table (data from Ref. 1, page 1195 and 1196) may need some explanation:
Until recently these factors were simply noted as an increased risk, but were
not thought to be related to each other. Recent eicosanoid research, however,
found the missing link (Ref. 3, page 144).
| Factors associated
with increased risk of uterine cancer: |
| obesity | estrogen
secreting ovarian tumor | | late
menopause | unopposed estrogen pills or injections |
| never had a baby | syndrome
of insulin resistance | | polycystic
ovaries | hypertension |
| diabetes | arthritis |
| hypothyroidism | rare
genetic syndromes (moderate risk) | It
appears that the culprit is a high insulin level, which
changes the body chemistry. All of the conditions mentioned in the table are in
some way related to this syndrome of insuline resistance or "syndrome X",
how it was called in the 1980's and early 1990's. Now it has been renamed as "metabolic
syndrome". It is the combination of obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, diabetes,
and hypertension. High insulin levels can cause many forms of arthritis
due to "bad eicosanoids" (for further details
see Ref. 3). As Dr. Sears, the inventor of the zone diet, stated the "bad
eicosanoids that increase insulin secretion are the same ones that increase the
likelihood of heart disease, cancer, and arthritis" (Ref. 3, page 144). A
Swedish study (Ref.4) confirmed that there is a high risk of uterine
cancer in patients with diabetes, hypertension and obesity.
"The 'bad eicosanoids' that
increase insulin secretion are the same ones that increase the likelihood of
heart disease, cancer, and arthritis" (Dr. Sears, Ref. 3, page 144). |
Increased and prolonged estrogen exposure of the
endometrial lining of the uterus leads to an increased risk of uterine cancer
(late menopause, never had a baby, estrogen secreting tumor and unopposed estrogen
as pills or injections). On the other hand, the birth control pill was shown to
cut the risk for uterine cancer to about 70% to 80% compared to a woman who does
not use hormone pills or injections. It
is known that this is due to the protective effect of progesterone, the other
of the two female homones that balance each other out. The same reasoning holds
true for postmenopausal hormone replacement, which is usually known under "ERT"
meaning "estrogen replacement therapy". For many years physicians paid
attention mainly to estrogen, because its lack causes a postmenopausal woman get
hot flushes and vaginal dryness. However, when reports of increased uterine cancer
rates appeared in the medical literature, research was carried out, which showed
that a birth-control pill like combination of small amounts of additional progesterone
with estrogen rendered the estrogen risk neutral or similar to the birth control
pill. The physician still must watch the side-effects of too much progesterone,
which leads to clotting problems including strokes. Finally there are
some rarer cases of genetic traits in certain families where there is
a moderate risk of increased uterine cancer rates. For more info on uterine cancer
click on "uterine cancer". |
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