Association between visceral fat, IL-8 and endometrial cancer

In endometrial cancer, visceral obesity, as a risk factor, is associated with a chronic inflammatory process, confirmed by the elevation of serum inflammatory markers in obese patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the correlation between visceral fat, assessed by ultrasonography, and the systemic levels of interleukin (IL)-8 in patients with endometrial cancer. This study also evaluated the usefulness of abdominal ultrasonography in assessing the visceral fat correlated with systemic inflammatory status, as an alternative method to identify patients at risk of endometrial cancer.

The study was a case-control analysis including two groups of patients: Group I: 44 patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer; group II: 44 patients with no gynecological pathology. The diagnosis of endometrial cancer was performed following histopathological examination that evaluated the tissue material obtained through endometrial biopsy. These patients underwent ultrasound examination by which intraperitoneal fat was determined. IL-8 levels were determined for each patient. The Student's t-test was used for the comparison of the means and the Mann-Whitney test for rank comparison of two independent samples.

In patients diagnosed with endometrial cancer, the visceral fat area evaluated by ultrasound was significantly larger (p<0.0001) compared to that of the control group. The plasma levels of IL-8 in the endometrial cancer group were significantly elevated (p<0.001) compared to the control group. A positive linear correlation was also found between the visceral fat area and plasma levels of IL-8.

The plasma levels of IL-8 are positively linearly correlated with visceral fat. Determination of visceral fat in association with IL-8 levels may be a predictive factor for endometrial cancer.