Metabolic Amplification in Endometrial Carcinogenesis: Biological Rationale and Translational Limits of Precision...

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common gynecologic malignancy in developed countries and one of the few solid tumors with a steadily rising incidence, paralleling global trends in obesity and insulin resistance. Its strong epidemiologic association with systemic metabolic dysfunction positions EC as a uniquely accessible model for metabolically informed chemoprevention.

This narrative review was conducted through a systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE and Embase using the following terms: "endometrial cancer" AND ("insulin resistance" OR "metabolic syndrome" OR "PI3K" OR "chemoprevention" OR "bariatric surgery" OR "metformin" OR "cellular senescence"). Searches were limited to English-language publications; no date restriction was applied for foundational molecular studies, while clinical and translational evidence was reviewed from 2000 to 2025. Additional references were identified through manual review of reference lists of included articles.

We examine metabolic amplification as a conceptual framework in which hyperinsulinemia, inflammatory reinforcement, and redox-epigenetic modulation intensify proliferative signaling in biologically susceptible endometrial tissue, particularly within molecular subtypes enriched for PI3K pathway activation such as tumors lacking a specific molecular profile (NSMP). Bariatric surgery offers the strongest human evidence supporting the principle that durable metabolic correction can substantially reduce EC incidence. In contrast, pharmacologic interventions including metformin, anti-inflammatory agents, and nutraceutical compounds demonstrate variable or limited preventive efficacy, and short-term biomarker modulation cannot substitute for validated reduction in cancer risk. The endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN) model provides a uniquely accessible platform for biomarker-guided intervention.

Integration of genomic subtype classification with metabolic profiling may enable precision prevention strategies in clearly defined high-risk populations. Effective chemoprevention will require molecular enrichment, confirmation of tissue-level target engagement, and clinically meaningful endpoints, while acknowledging the translational limits of pathway-directed approaches.