Which of the following is a risk factor for endometrial cancer?

Which of the following is a risk factor for endometrial cancer?

• A. Regular exercise
• B. Early menopause
• C. Age > 50
• D. Use of combined oral contraceptives

Answer: (C)

Endometrial cancer risk increases with age, especially after fifty, because the longer a person lives, the more chances there are for genetic changes to accumulate and for hormonal exposures that stimulate the endometrium over time to influence cancer development. In the typical pattern of endometrial cancer, estrogen-driven proliferation of the lining plays a key role, and factors that raise lifetime estrogen exposure or the duration of unopposed estrogen promote risk. That’s why someone older than fifty sits in a higher-risk category. By contrast, regular exercise helps reduce risk by improving weight and metabolic health; combined oral contraceptives lower risk due to the progestin component countering estrogen’s proliferative effect on the endometrium; and early menopause reduces lifetime estrogen exposure, thereby lowering risk.

Endometrial cancer risk increases with age, especially after fifty, because the longer a person lives, the more chances there are for genetic changes to accumulate and for hormonal exposures that stimulate the endometrium over time to influence cancer development. In the typical pattern of endometrial cancer, estrogen-driven proliferation of the lining plays a key role, and factors that raise lifetime estrogen exposure or the duration of unopposed estrogen promote risk. That’s why someone older than fifty sits in a higher-risk category.

By contrast, regular exercise helps reduce risk by improving weight and metabolic health; combined oral contraceptives lower risk due to the progestin component countering estrogen’s proliferative effect on the endometrium; and early menopause reduces lifetime estrogen exposure, thereby lowering risk.