Research summary

PCOS Associated With a Higher Risk of Endometrial Cancer in Patients

Jessica Ganga

Patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a high risk for endometrial cancer and have no significant risk for ovarian or cervical cancers, according to a recent study.

Abu-Zaid and colleagues aimed to examine the relationship between PCOS and three types of cancer: (1) ovarian, (2) endometrial, (3) cervical. The researchers used the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, making this the first-ever NIS analysis to show the unique gynecologic cancer risk profiles for individuals with PCOS.

“We utilized the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) system to identify relevant codes from the NIS database (2016-2019),” the researchers wrote. “Univariate and multivariable regression analyses (adjusted age, race, hospital region, hospital teaching status, income Zip score, smoking, alcohol use, and hormonal replacement therapy) were conducted to evaluate association between PCOS and gynecologic cancers.”

In total, over 15 million patients were included in the study. Of the total, 56,183 patients were diagnosed with PCOS. Among the patients diagnosed with gynecologic cancer (n = 91,599), 286 patients were with PCOS. Researchers found, using univariate analysis, that PCOS was significantly associated with higher risk of endometrial cancer (odds ratio [OR] = 1.39, [95% CI, 1.18 to 1.63], p < 0.0001). Further, there was a lower risk of ovarian (OR = 0.55, [95% CI, 0.45 to 0.67], p < 0.0001) and cervical cancer (OR = 0.68, [95% CI, 0.51 to 0.91], p = 0.009).

After Bonferroni correction, a multivariable analysis showed that PCOS remained significantly associated with higher risk of endometrial cancer (OR = 3.90, [95% CI 4.32 to 4.59], p < 0.0001). Overall, the researchers found there was no correlation between PCOS and the risk of ovarian (OR = 1.09, [95% CI, 0.89 to 1.34], p = 0.409) and cervical cancer (OR = 0.83, [95% CI, 0.62 to 1.11], p = 0.218).

 

Reference:

Abu-Zaid A, Baradwan S, Alyafi M, et al. Association between polycystic ovary syndrome and the risk of malignant gynecologic cancers (ovarian, endometrial, and cervical): a population-based study from the USA National Inpatient Sample 2016–2019. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2024;299:283-288. doi:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2024.06.031