Denser trabecular bone in women with endometrial carcinoma

Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured in the distal radius of patients with endometrial carcinoma (EC). The patients were classified into two subgroups depending on whether earlier hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) was given. Two groups of women were recruited as controls: patients with post-menopausal bleeding for non-malignant reasons (hospital controls) and healthy women, free of gyn-ecologic symptoms (non-hospital controls). The BMD was significantly higher in the cancer patients and also in the hospital controls than in the non-hospital controls. When several possible confounding factors were checked for in a multivariate analysis, BMD still differed between the groups. This could lend support to the hypothesis that patients with EC may have an altered endogenous endocrine status which eventually affects their bone mass. The results also stress the importance of using strictly defined, healthy women as controls.