Bottoms up – the fountain of youth overflows with water.
Perfectly, that may well be an overstatement, but new investigate exhibits that keeping hydrated can aid us dwell healthier and for a longer period life.
That was the conclusion of scientists from the Nationwide Institute of Wellness (NIH) who measured signs of hydration in middle-aged persons and then tracked the incidence of chronic condition and early demise. People who did not sustain recommended degrees of hydration had been joined to poorer health and a better hazard of early demise.
Especially, the NIH researchers tracked amounts of serum sodium in the blood. Levels of the substance increase when a man or woman has not drank enough fluids, specifically drinking water. The points they supply consist of:
Men and women with higher amounts were 50{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} extra likely to feel older than their chronological age.
H2o-restricted mice live 6 months much less than hydrated mice, which equals shortening a human lifespan by 15 several years.
50{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the population is not adequately hydrated.
Chugging along
With this news in mind, you may possibly surprise how much you ought to tip the water bottle just about every day. In accordance to the Facilities for Sickness Manage and Prevention, the sum we want is dependent on age.
Tips suggest that people ages 20 to 39 chug 51 ounces a working day, when individuals ages 40 to 59 can stop at 43 ounces a day. It’s crucial, having said that, to hear to your body and consume drinking water when you really feel thirsty, Biskup says, introducing that the included movement has an immediate outcome on the human body.
“The increased the drinking water intake, the superior the kidneys will get the job done,” he points out, introducing that the drinking water assists flush the kidneys of any buildup of harmful toxins.
Substantial drinking water ingestion, specially just just before foods, decreases the all round glycemic load, or sugar’s outcome on the blood, which is quite critical for diabetics. It also will help decrease the absorption of energy, which assists eliminate/maintain a balanced bodyweight.
Espresso, tea and sports activities drinks with electrolytes can depend towards your hydration target, but the emphasis is on h2o, he proceeds. Caffeinated beverages, on the other hand, actually decrease the body’s absorption of energy and must be constrained, Biskup suggests.
Other sources of hydration can contain:
Vegetables, quite a few of which (cucumbers, lettuce) have a drinking water information of far more than 90{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}
Wholesome fruits like watermelon, strawberries and citrus fruit
Soy milk, skim milk
“As we age, our thirst sensation declines, so it normally takes a additional lively vigilance to retain our bodies hydrated,” Biskup suggests.
LGBTQ+ clients with breast cancer encounter delays in analysis and have worse results than cisgender heterosexual individuals, according to investigate released in JAMA Oncology.
Scientists located that LGBTQ+ sufferers have a better threat of cancer recurrence, and they are additional very likely to decrease their oncologist’s advisable study course of remedy.
This retrospective, situation-regulate study provided 92 LGBTQ+ clients and 92 matched cisgender heterosexual clients. All individuals were being identified with breast cancer in a single health and fitness care technique involving January 2008 and January 2022.
Go on Examining
The demographic traits of the cohorts had been equivalent, besides for race and ethnicity. The LGBTQ+ team had extra non-Hispanic White clients (78.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} vs 63.{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) and Hispanic sufferers (14.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} vs 7.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) but much less Asian or Pacific Islander sufferers (3.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} vs 25.{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) than the cisgender heterosexual group.
In equally teams, the median age at analysis was 49 many years, and most sufferers experienced personal coverage. Baseline illness qualities have been very similar amongst the groups.
Between the LGBTQ+ clients, 74 (80.4{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) ended up cisgender lesbians, 12 (13{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) had been cisgender bisexuals, 4 (4.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) were heterosexual transgender males, 1 (1.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) was a gay transgender guy, and 1 (1.1{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}) was an asexual transgender person.
The median time from symptom onset to diagnosis was lengthier for LGBTQ+ patients than for cisgender heterosexual individuals — 64 days and 34 times, respectively (modified hazard ratio [aHR], .65 95{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} CI, .42-.99 P =.04).
Nevertheless, the time from analysis to procedure was identical involving the groups. In addition, there had been no differences in prices of mastectomy, chest reconstruction, adjuvant radiation, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, antiestrogen treatment, or HER2-qualified remedy amongst the groups.
LGBTQ+ people ended up far more probable than cisgender heterosexual individuals to decline oncologist-suggested therapy — 38{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} and 20{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, respectively (altered odds ratio, 2.27 95{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} CI, 1.09-4.74 P =.03). The use of alternate medicine was bigger in LGBTQ+ sufferers than in cisgender heterosexual sufferers as perfectly — 46{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} and 30{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, respectively.
The charge of recurrence was greater in LGBTQ+ individuals than in cisgender heterosexual individuals — 32.2{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} and 13.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, respectively. Area recurrence costs ended up 17.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} and 2.5{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, respectively. Fees of metastatic recurrence were being 24.7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} and 13.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c}, respectively.
In a multivariable analysis, the chance of recurrence was 3-fold larger for LGBTQ+ clients (aHR, 3.07 95{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} CI, 1.56-6.03 P =.001).
The scientists suggested that these disparities be further more investigated in potential, populace-dependent scientific studies, with the intention of informing wellness treatment interventions and bettering quality of treatment for LGBTQ+ people with breast cancer.
Among Americans, heart disease is the leading cause of death. Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the US. While heart disease statistics are scary, heart disease, generally speaking, is preventable for those who don’t have preexisting heart conditions.
However, there are challenges and several risk factors that can’t be changed, including family history, sex or age. Additionally, some people don’t have access to heart-healthy foods and others don’t have the opportunity to see a doctor and get insights about their current health status.
For the most part, however, the average person can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease with simple lifestyle changes, like the nine steps detailed here.
Health tips don’t end here. Check out tips to help you quit drinking alcohol, a dietary supplement that doubles as a sleep aid, and the best food for lowering blood pressure.
These lifestyle changes can significantly boost your heart health.
Getty Images
1. Take a daily walk
Decades of research support cardiovascular exercise as a first defense against heart disease. Walking is an easy, simple way to get cardio exercise in, and you can do it pretty much anywhere outdoors or indoors with a treadmill.
Studies show that walking can prevent heart disease risk despite being a less intense modality than other forms of cardio exercise, such as hiking, jogging or cycling. Plus, research suggests that more people stick to a walking plan over time versus other types of exercise, which makes walking more effective in the long run (no exercise is effective if you don’t keep it up).
And you can always make your walk harder if you want to improve your health even further.
Related: Best Treadmill for 2022
2. Strength train a few times each week
Most research on heart health and exercise has focused on aerobic exercise like walking. An emerging body of research points to resistance training as another way to reduce your risk of heart disease. In fact, a 2018 study found that lifting weights for less than one hour a week could reduce your risk for a heart attack or stroke by up to 70{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} — independent of aerobic exercise, making these results even more significant.
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, this profound effect probably has something to do with the way weightlifting changes your body composition. Lifting weights helps you build muscle and lose fat. Excess body fat is a major risk factor for heart disease, so any exercise that helps you reduce body fat is helpful.
You don’t need a gym or fancy equipment to start strength training. Bodyweight exercises, such as air squats, push-ups and lunges, provide the same strengthening benefits at home.
3. Eat heart-healthy foods
Many delicious foods have a direct link to improved heart health. In general, a diet rich in whole grains, fruit, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats from nuts, seeds, fish and oils promotes heart health. If you don’t have access to fresh produce, frozen and canned fruits and veggies work just as well (just be mindful of salt intake when eating canned foods).
4. Limit foods linked to heart disease
On the flip side, several foods have direct links to heart disease. To reduce your risk of heart disease, limit high-fat and high-sugar foods such as potato chips and store-bought desserts. Highly processed foods, including most fast food, processed meats (think hot dogs and cured meats) and boxed snacks like Twinkies and crackers, also contain ingredients harmful to your heart.
Specifically, look out for trans fats (hydrogenated oils) and high-fructose corn syrup, two common key ingredients that aren’t great for your heart. Trans fats increase “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood, while high-fructose corn syrup is a driver of several heart disease risk factors and comorbidities.
Side note: Don’t be afraid of saturated fat on its own, as research has debunked the myth that saturated fat alone leads to heart disease. Many healthy foods, such as avocados and cheese, contain saturated fats. Processed foods are often high in saturated fat, but it’s more so the trans fats and refined carbohydrates to look out for.
5. Quit smoking
It’s common knowledge by now that smoking is just plain bad for health. Your heart is no exception. According to the Food and Drug Administration, cigarette smoking is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes.
Smoking impairs your cardiovascular system in a few ways: It leads to plaque buildup in your arteries, changes your blood chemistry and thickens blood, and permanently damages your heart muscle and blood vessels. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute says that even an occasional cigarette can cause substantial damage.
6. Limit alcohol intake
We’re not here to tell you that you can’t enjoy your favorite cocktail or crack a cold one on game day, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the consequences of excess alcohol consumption. Drinking too much is generally bad for all your body systems.
In regard to heart health specifically, alcohol has been linked to various cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease and stroke. However, the exact relationships vary greatly depending on the quantity and pattern of consumption.
The American Heart Association maintains that drinking in moderation is OK, but once you inch past that mark (one drink per day for women and two for men), things take a turn for the worse. And, no, the link between red wine and heart health isn’t all that clear.
7. Keep stress levels low
More research is needed to understand exactly how stress contributes to heart disease, but scientists have observed a relationship between stress and heart health. For starters, high levels of chronic stress can trigger unhealthy coping habits, such as smoking, drinking alcohol or eating lots of high-fat or high-sugar food. Stress also undermines your body’s ability to rest and sleep.
Researchers have even identified a specific and unusual sort of heart attack called takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also known as stress cardiomyopathy and “broken heart syndrome.” This condition has been linked to emotional trauma, but many patients with this condition exhibit no identifiable cause.
So, don’t underestimate the impact of stress on your heart. While stress is inevitable and unavoidable at times, it helps to have a handful of stress-relief tactics to rely on in times of extreme duress.
8. Prioritize sleep
If there were a miracle drug, sleep would probably be it, with exercise coming in a close second. Scientists have positioned sleep deprivation as a risk factor for heart disease because of inverse relationships between sleep duration and cardiovascular diseases: It seems the less sleep you get, the higher your risk for cardiovascular events.
Read more:Why You Should Skip Your Workout If You Didn’t Get Enough Sleep
9. See your doctor and keep up with health records
If you’re able to, schedule a yearly checkup with your doctor to make sure all’s in order.
Getting a blood panel that checks for cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar and other important health markers can help you keep close tabs on your heart health. If you don’t have a primary care doctor, call your nearest urgent care or walk-in clinic to see if it offers basic blood tests. At the very least, checking your blood pressure with an at-home monitor gives you some indication of how you’re doing. Keep track of your health records so you can identify any changes or patterns over time.
If any indication of heart disease arises, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor any questions. Make sure you understand what the numbers mean, what changes you might need to make to your lifestyle, and if you’ll need any medications. Being an advocate for your own health gets you far.
Want more health tips? Read here how to naturally cure an upset stomach, 8 tips to help you quit smoking and how 15 minutes a day can make you more fit.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
The U.S. Foodstuff and Drug Administration (Fda) is investigating the threat of intense hypocalcemia with critical outcomes, such as hospitalization and demise, in clients with superior kidney disorder on dialysis treated with the osteoporosis drugs Prolia (denosumab). Our critique of interim final results from an ongoing safety examine of Prolia implies an elevated hazard of hypocalcemia, or small calcium amounts in the blood, in patients with state-of-the-art kidney sickness. Preliminary benefits from a different internal Food and drug administration study even further investigating hypocalcemia in dialysis sufferers taken care of with Prolia exhibit a considerable risk with severe outcomes, like hospitalization and death.
Due to the fact of the frequency and seriousness of these threats, we are alerting wellbeing treatment experts and sufferers about them and that we are continuing to examine this likely safety issue with Prolia use in clients with superior kidney sickness, particularly people on dialysis. We will connect our closing conclusions and tips when we have finished our overview or have much more information to share.
Clients must not quit Prolia cure with out very first consulting your well being care qualified, as halting may perhaps worsen your bone condition. Talk to your health care qualified about any issues you could have, which includes attainable alternate treatment plans. Notify your health care qualified if you working experience any signs and symptoms of lower blood calcium levels these kinds of as abnormal tingling or numbness in the arms, arms, legs, or ft painful muscle mass spasms or cramps voice box or lung spasms triggering issue breathing vomiting seizures or irregular coronary heart rhythm.
Health care experts must take into account the risks of hypocalcemia with the use of Prolia in clients on dialysis. When Prolia is applied in these people, sufficient calcium and vitamin D supplementation and recurrent blood calcium monitoring, maybe a lot more generally than is now being executed, could assistance lower the probability or severity of these threats. Suggest clients on dialysis to right away search for assistance if they knowledge indications of hypocalcemia.
Prolia is a prescription medicine accepted in June 2010 to deal with postmenopausal ladies with osteoporosis at significant chance for bone fracture. Prolia was later approved to address adult males with osteoporosis, glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis, bone decline in men receiving androgen deprivation remedy for prostate cancer and in women of all ages receiving aromatase inhibitor therapy for breast cancer. Prolia performs by blocking a protein termed RANK (receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa beta) and allows protect against bone cells called osteoclasts from breaking down bone in the system. A wellbeing treatment experienced administers Prolia by injection once each individual six months.
When Food and drug administration first permitted Prolia, we required the manufacturer, Amgen, to carry out a extensive-expression basic safety study in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis and adult men with osteoporosis. Our assessment of the interim final results from this ongoing basic safety review suggests an greater threat of hypocalcemia with Prolia in sufferers with state-of-the-art kidney sickness. In addition, adverse event stories submitted to Fda showed significant and symptomatic hypocalcemia, such as hospitalization and loss of life, is happening in individuals with sophisticated kidney disease taken care of with Prolia. Preliminary success from a different inside Fda study investigating the threat of hypocalcemia counsel that clients on dialysis treated with Prolia are at considerable chance for extreme and symptomatic hypocalcemia, which includes hospitalization and death.
We urge overall health treatment experts and people to report side consequences involving Prolia or other medications to the Food and drug administration MedWatch application, working with the information and facts in the “Contact FDA” box at the bottom of the web site.
Wellbeing care pros, clients, and people can sign up for e mail alerts about Drug Protection Communications on medications or professional medical specialties of desire to you.
Costs of subpar rest enhanced by 50 percent, or far more, between adolescents from 1991-2019, and these disruptions are associated with a range of well being penalties. Sleeplessness especially raises an individual’s risk of hypertension, diabetes, weight problems, melancholy, coronary heart attack, and stroke.
A cohort research aimed to analyze the risk of overdose when managing patients with benzodiazepines compared with choice therapies for rest disorders, precisely in young folks. Adolescents with slumber disorders are recommended benzodiazepines and sad to say, when the cure is combined with opioid use it can final result in an overdose.
Greta Bushnell, PhD, and investigators, evaluated the overdose danger connected with benzodiazepine procedure as opposed with other pharmacologic remedies like trazodone, hydroxyzine, xolpidem, zalplon, and eszopiclone in clients with slumber diseases.
Learning Pitfalls of Sleep Ailment Procedure
This cohort examine collected info from a US professional claims database on men and women aged 10-29 years amongst 2009-2018. Investigators sought to consist of individuals who had a slumber disorder prognosis and have been initiating benzodiazepine, or a comparative treatment.
In the analyze, exposures were new use of benzodiazepine treatment method or comparator pharmacologic treatment plans, which was defined as a year or additional without the need of a prescrition for the procedure.
Overdose prices were collected from inpatient and emergency office (ED) information in 6 months from the beginning of therapy. Assessment provided the propensity score–adjusted cumulative incidence of overdose and hazard ratios (HRs) that had been approximated with intention-to-treat and as-handled analyses. Investigators stratified success by prior prescription opioid fill.
Sleep Therapies and Overdose Occurrence
The investigation involved 23,084 individuals initiating benzodiazepine treatment method and 66,706 initiating a comparator remedy. The signify age was 23 a long time and 62.6{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of the study populace was feminine.
When evaluated 6 months following the start of therapy, 9.7{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of these on benzodiazepine had been nevertheless on cure, which was lessen than the 12.3{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} of those who were being on comparator cure. The crude incidence of drug overdose at the 6 thirty day period mark was very similar, with .9{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} among the the benzodiazepine team and .8{fe463f59fb70c5c01486843be1d66c13e664ed3ae921464fa884afebcc0ffe6c} in the comparator group.
Nonetheless, the modified analyses shown an greater danger of drug overdose related with benzodiazepines in comparison with the comparator treatments. As opposed with individuals who experienced not not too long ago crammed an opioid prescription, the association was much more outstanding amid younger persons with a the latest prescription opioid fill.
“The conclusions of this study recommend that benzodiazepines, compared with choice pharmacologic therapies for prevalent snooze problems, have been affiliated with an greater risk of drug overdose amid younger people through the pursuing 6-month time period,specifically amongst people with a current opioid prescription,” investigators wrote. “Drug overdose is an essential security thought when dealing with young folks with benzodiazepines.”
Light spotting. Constipation. Feeling tired. Skin losing its glow.
Martha Jean Williams, 57 at the time, dismissed all of it as routine aging.
Months later, in October 2012, she went in for a regular checkup with her doctor.
It turned out that she should have been more worried about the spotting. She had gone through menopause at age 50. In the seven years since she experienced no bleeding at all — until March.
“I remember asking three different women about it because I’d already been through menopause,” Williams said. “They said, ‘Oh, no big deal. I bleed all the time.’ It wasn’t heavy or anything and it wasn’t every day, so I just ignored it.”
When she mentioned the light spotting to her doctor, he had a different reaction — one of concern. He told her to get a biopsy.
The result came back: she had endometrial cancer, also known as uterine cancer.
Martha Jean Williams is an endometrial cancer survivor. She is part of the Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African-Americans where she serves as a board member and member of the group’s research partnerships committee. Credit: Courtesy of Martha Jean Williams
The news was a shock. It was only the third time in her life that she’d been sick beyond a cold. This type of cancer was unfamiliar to her, even though endometrial cancer is the only major cancer type that is increasing in both frequency and mortality.
“I had no information whatsoever, had never had a conversation about uterine cancer,” Williams said. “I don’t know that I had even heard of it before I had it. I had heard of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, but this, no.”
‘Greatest cancer disparity’
Williams, who lives in New Orleans, did not find out about the stark racial disparity in endometrial cancer outcomes — one of the largest disparities for any cancer type — until years later when she joined the Endometrial Cancer Action Network for African-Americans in 2018. ECANA is a national group of patients, doctors, survivors, community advocates and professional leaders committed to the single purpose of improving the lives of Black women affected by endometrial cancer.
Black women die of uterine cancer at twice the rate of white women, and the reasons for the disparity remain unclear.
That’s an unacceptable fact for a group of researchers and clinicians at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. That’s why they have research underway to investigate many factors such as tumor biology, access to care, and lifestyle and behavior that may play a role in survivorship.
The goal is to acquire vital knowledge that can be used to improve endometrial cancer outcomes and close the racial disparity gap.
“I think that endometrial cancer is probably the greatest cancer disparity in North Carolina, so it’s kind of about time that we paid attention to it now,” said Victoria Bae-Jump, director of UNC Lineberger’s Endometrial Cancer Center of Excellence and a gynecologic oncologist. “It’s on the rise both in frequency and mortality.”
Increasing cases, increasing deaths
In North Carolina, based on preliminary 2020 data, there were 1,706 cases of uterine cancer — an incidence rate of 23.1 per 100,000. The same year, there were 408 deaths with a significant disparity in mortality, with a death rate for white women at 4.0 per 100,000 compared to a rate of 9.7 per 100,000 for all minorities.
Hazel Nichols, an associate professor in the epidemiology department at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health who researches cancer, says it’s common for people to be diagnosed and say they have never heard of endometrial cancer, also known as uterine cancer, prior to the diagnosis. Nichols said this cancer type hasn’t gotten the national and local attention it deserves.
After all, it’s a cancer everyone with a uterus should know about.
Currently, endometrial cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women in the United States. But with cases on the rise, cancer of the uterus is expected to pass colorectal cancer by 2040 as the third most common cancer among women.
Facts About Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer
In 2022, an estimated 65,950 new cases of uterine cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. and 12,550 women are expected to die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.
Endometrial cancer mainly affects post-menopausal women. It’s uncommon in women under the age of 45.
Obesity is a strong risk factor for endometrial cancer. The cancer is twice as common in overweight women and more than three times as common in obese women.
Abnormal vaginal bleeding — either after menopause or between periods — is the most frequent symptom of endometrial cancer, along with pelvic pain.
For many other cancers, researchers have been successful in seeing overall declines in incidence and mortality rates as well as in reducing the gap between Black and white patient outcomes, said Nichols. Yet she said these improvements have not occurred with endometrial cancer primarily because it’s been underfunded and understudied.
Uterine cancer has consistently ranked at the bottom of research funding by cancer type. The National Cancer Institute reported spending an estimated $13.6 million on uterine cancer research in 2020, a drop from $18 million in 2019. The only cancer type with less NCI funding in 2020 was stomach cancer, which received $10.6 million. In comparison, breast cancer received more than half a billion dollars in research funding.
Last November, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center launched the Endometrial Cancer Center of Excellence to increase its focus on advancing scientific understanding of the causes, prevention and treatment of endometrial cancer.
“Every year we have more deaths, we have more women diagnosed, and we don’t really completely understand why,” said Bae-Jump, the center’s director who was elected co-chair of the National Cancer Institute Gynecologic Cancers Steering Committee’s Uterine Task Force in May.
Looking for answers
One ambitious statewide, population-based study, the Carolina Endometrial Cancer Study, seeks to find answers, and it’s casting a wide net to do so.
Researchers are seeking to enroll about 1,800 adults ages 20-80 living in any of North Carolina’s counties at the time of their recent first diagnosis of endometrial cancer to learn why people have different outcomes and experiences. Women of all races will be enrolled, but the study has a particular target of enrolling at least 500 Black women.
Bae-Jump, a study investigator, said this study is the largest on endometrial cancer in the South, one of the first studies to include significant numbers of Black women and the first to look at different subtypes of endometrial cancer.
“The overarching goal is to address why are endometrial cancer outcomes worsening? And then why is that worsening particularly striking for Black women?” Bae-Jump said.
Past studies have identified potential drivers of the racial disparity, including that Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer, have a greater prevalence of health conditions and are less likely to undergo surgery to treat their cancer.
Bae-Jump suspects the answer will be multi-pronged. That’s why the study is examining both biological factors and social determinants of health in its search for answers.
“We’re trying to bring to bear all the different disciplines of public health and medicine so that we get this fuller view of the contributors to an endometrial cancer diagnosis and survivorship,” Nichols, one of the study’s principal investigators, said.
The first endometrial cancer patient was enrolled in the study in February 2021, Bae-Jump said, and she expects it to take four to five years to enroll the target number of study participants. Investigators identify potential study participants from the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry.
Participants are first asked to complete a thorough survey that includes questions about family history, medical history, lifestyle, treatment and access to care.
“We’re asking not only the questions that the scientific community thinks are important but that the women who are living with this diagnosis think are important,” Nichols said.
Participants are also asked to provide consent for researchers to obtain their medical records, a sample of stored tissue from diagnosis or treatment and a saliva sample through a self-collection kit. With permission, study staff will follow up with participants annually for about five years to ask about treatment status and quality of life.
Women can participate in all aspects of the study or can choose to participate in just select parts. Financial compensation will be provided for completing parts of the study.
This study is modeled after UNC Lineberger’s Carolina Breast Cancer Study, which is a population-based study that began in 1993 and continues today, producing more than 200 published research findings over that time. The study examines how the causes, treatment and long-term outcomes of breast cancer differ between Black and white women.
UNC Lineberger is also embarking on a study led by Bae-Jump looking at the impact of race and the microbiome — the microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses living in a person — on the progression and treatment of endometrial cancer. The gut microbiome is known to affect biologic pathways for both obesity and cancer, but this research seeks to determine whether there is an inter-relationship between the gut and uterine microbiome, racial disparities, obesity and endometrial cancer.
Potential impact
It’s too early to tell what the results of the Carolina Endometrial Cancer Study will be but those involved are hopeful it will lead to long overdue progress.
“We’re very ambitious,” Nichols said. “We’re hoping that the information we learn from women who are able to contribute samples of their individual cancer tumors will help drive new treatments. We’re hoping that the information we learn about experiences navigating the health care system will help us design better ways for patients to navigate the health care system.
“We’re also hoping that some of the survey data will give us information that we can bring directly back to participants to see if there are things that they can choose to do in their own lives, whether that’s getting involved with specific organizations or starting walking regimens or other things that have helped other women in North Carolina.”
And progress is all that Williams, an endometrial cancer survivor, wants.
“I was like speechless thinking, could I have not even been on this journey had we had better information?” Williams said.
She can’t help but think, if there had been better information, would she have taken her light spotting more seriously? Would she have had a hysterectomy sooner? Would there have been a need for the six weeks of radiation and months of chemotherapy — treatments that nearly killed her?
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North Carolina Health News
Finally, at the bottom of the story (whether web or print), please include the text:
North Carolina Health News is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit, statewide news organization dedicated to covering all things health care in North Carolina. Visit NCHN at northcarolinahealthnews.org. (on the web, this can be hyperlinked)
by Rachel Crumpler, North Carolina Health News July 26, 2022
