Significance of body weight change during fertility-sparing progestin therapy in young women with early endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the influence of body weight change during fertility-sparing progestin therapy on oncologic and reproductive outcomes in young women with early-stage endometrial cancer who did not complete child bearing.

METHODS

This multicenter, retrospective study included 154 young patients with well-differentiated, endometrium-confined endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma on magnetic resonance imaging who received fertility-sparing progestin therapy.

RESULTS

The mean body weight and body mass index (BMI) at baseline and progestin therapy completion was 65.3±16.2 and 66.5±15.9kg (P=0.044), respectively, and 25.51±5.99 and 25.99±5.94kg/m (P=0.034), respectively. During progestin therapy, 51 (33.1%), 29 (18.8%), and 74 patients (48.1%) had weight loss, no weight change, and weight gain, respectively, of which 11 (7.1%) had 10% weight loss and 30 (19.5%) had 10% weight gain. A pretreatment BMI of ≥25kg/m was significantly associated with a lower complete response rate to progestin therapy (P=0.003) and a high recurrence rate (P=0.033). A posttreatment BMI of ≥25kg/m was also a significant factor for high recurrence rate (P=0.049). However, weight change during therapy was not significantly associated with complete response or recurrence rate. Pre and posttreatment BMIs and weight change were not associated with pregnancy and live birth rates.

CONCLUSION

Weight change during progestin therapy has little influence on complete response, recurrence, pregnancy, and live birth rates. However, pre and posttreatment BMIs of ≥25kg/m were significant predictors for poor treatment response and high recurrence. Therefore, it is important to maintain patients' normal BMIs during progestin therapy.