IMR Press / CEOG / Volume 48 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.ceog.2021.02.2297
Open Access Original Research
Value of computed tomography-defined visceral fat area as a risk factor for endometrial cancer
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1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, 04401 Seoul, Republic of Korea
2 Department of Biostatistics, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, 04401 Seoul, Republic of Korea
3 Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 03181 Seoul, Republic of Korea
*Correspondence: jskim@schmc.ac.kr (Jeong Sig Kim)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2021, 48(2), 359–364; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog.2021.02.2297
Submitted: 17 September 2020 | Revised: 7 December 2020 | Accepted: 11 December 2020 | Published: 15 April 2021
Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

Objective: Obesity is a risk factor for endometrial cancer. Recently, visceral fat is strongly associated with obesity-related carcinogenesis, more than subcutaneous fat. In this study, we hypothesized that the visceral fat measured by computed tomography (CT) contributes to the occurrence of endometrial cancer. Methods: A retrospective chart review of patients undergoing primary surgery for endometrial cancer was conducted. The volume of visceral fat was measured by CT scans performed at the fourth lumbar level for all participants. Body fat distributions assessed by a direct method in 52 endometrial cancer cases were compared with those of age- and BMI-matched healthy community controls. Results: Case group showed significantly higher mean visceral fat area (VFA; 76.2 ± 25.0 vs. 62.2 ± 13.9 cm2, P = 0.007). The mean total fat area (TFA; 270.3 ± 99.9 vs. 238.9 ± 53.8 cm2, P = 0.137) and subcutaneous fat area (SFA; 194.2 ± 86.5 vs. 176.7 ± 45.8 cm2, P = 0.315), however, presents no significant differences. VFA showed lower correlation with BMI (r2 = 0.299, P < 0.001) than to SFA (r2 = 0.528, P < 0.001) or TFA (r2 = 0.584, P < 0.001). In receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve, at a VFA value of 70.8 cm2, sensitivity and specificity of the case group was 55.8% and 75%, respectively. Conclusion: Increased abdominal visceral fat is associated with endometrial cancer risk and can be predicted by measuring CT scans. Furthermore, as the most independent factor of BMI, VFA may provide additional information for representative risks of endometrial cancer.

Keywords
Intra-abdominal fat
Computed tomography
Body fat distribution
Endometrial neoplasms
Funding
NRF-2020R1A2C1102244/Soonchunhyang University Research Fund and the National
Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education
Figures
Fig. 1.
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