Study Shows Higher Endometrial Cancer Rates in South Texas Women

“What surprised us was the degree of increased risk,” said Dr. Edward Kost, who serves as a board-certified gynecologic oncologist at Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio and co-authored the research.

Women in a swath of South Texas that includes San Antonio face higher rates of endometrial cancer than women anywhere else in the state.

High Rates in Region 8

Scientists at the University of Texas at San Antonio and the National Cancer Institute led the study examining the disease, which begins in the lining of the uterus. Among women ages 20 to 49 in Texas Public Health Region 8, researchers found 13.9 cases of endometrial cancer per 100,000 women. That figure compares with 9.9 statewide.

Young Hispanic women in the region face even higher rates, reaching 17.2 cases per 100,000. Kost noted that the risk was almost double in young Hispanic patients compared to non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White patients.

UT Health San Antonio detailed figures published in Cancer Epidemiology indicating that within the Upper-South zone encompassing San Antonio and Bexar County, the frequency adjusted for hysterectomies climbed from 42.6 per 100,000 women during 2000–2009 to 53.8 per 100,000 in 2010–2019.

Risk Factors Increase Endometrial Cancer Vulnerability

While the study did not determine why rates are higher in South Texas, researchers point to risk factors that cut across populations. These include obesity, diabetes, and polycystic ovary syndrome, which is also known clinically as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.

The condition associates with insulin resistance and irregular periods. Women who go months or years without menstruating lose progesterone, a hormone that protects the uterus from cancer, according to Kost.

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States. It is highly survivable when caught early.

The study notes that doctors can diagnose precursor conditions like endometrial hyperplasia and treat them with medications. Kost advised that individuals presenting with risk factors at a young age should consult their gynecologist to discuss the potential necessity of an endometrial biopsy.

Hysterectomy and Hormone Therapy Offer Treatment Options

Treatment outcomes are generally favorable. For older women, or those who do not wish to become pregnant, the first line of treatment is hysterectomy. According to Kost, it is curative eighty percent of the time in a post-menopausal patient.

Younger patients hoping to preserve fertility have alternatives, such as hormone treatment with progesterone. Institutional tumor registry data from Bexar County indicate that approximately 25% of endometrial cancer patients were younger than 50 at diagnosis, compared to about 15% nationally.

Researchers aim to identify what is causing the increased incidence in this population. The ultimate goal is to intervene at the community level to decrease the incidence.