MILAN – Half an hour of daily exercise”, a balanced diet and coffee could lower the risk of developing endometrial cancer, according to a new review of scientific evidence. The report was published Sept. 10 by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and World Cancer Research Fund International.
Researchers estimate that 59 percent of endometrial cancer cases — about 29,500 every year in the United States — could be prevented if women exercised at least 30 minutes a day and avoided excess body fat.
The panel’s findings are “very consistent with our research with respect to obesity and physical activity,” said Mia Gaudet, director of genetic epidemiology for the American Cancer Society.
“Endometrial cancer has one of the strongest associations with obesity, of all the cancers we know that are associated with obesity,” Gaudet said. Hormonal changes associated with obesity promote endometrial cancer, said review panel member Dr. Elisa Bandera, an associate professor of epidemiology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
“Endometrial cancer is a disease mostly caused by excessive and prolonged stimulation of the endometrium — the lining of the uterus — by estrogens, unopposed by the hormone progesterone,” Bandera said. “Obesity is associated with increased estrogen production by the adipose [fat] tissue in postmenopausal women, and is associated with increased insulin and insulin resistance as well as chronic inflammation.
All of these factors affect the cells in the endometrium.”
Drinking one cup of coffee a day can reduce a woman’s risk of endometrial cancer by 7 percent, whether it is caffeinated or decaf, the research suggested.
Coffee likely reduces cancer risk because it contains powerful antioxidants like chlorogenic acid. These antioxidants can prevent DNA damage, improve insulin sensitivity and inhibit glucose absorption in the intestine, all of which could reduce risk, Bandera and the other experts on the panel concluded.
However, experts said that there is not yet enough evidence to recommend drinking coffee to protect against the disease.
Researchers at Imperial College, London also said that women can reduce their risk of developing the disease with at least 38 minutes of daily exercise and keeping a healthy weight.
