Polycystic ovarian syndrome and the risk of developing endometrial cancer

Abstract

Overview of the topic: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder effecting one fifth of the female population at reproductive age, while endometrial cancer is the most common gynaecological cancer. Endometrial cancer originates from the uterus lining and is associated with hormone imbalance. PCOS is characterised by high levels of oestrogen, thus this strongly associates PCOS with endometrial carcinoma. In this dissertation, the risk of developing endometrial cancer in adult women over the age of twelve with PCOS was explored through a systematic review of relevant literature. The research question: Does having polycystic ovarian syndrome increase the risk of endometrial cancer amongst adult women? PICO elements: Population – Adult women. Intervention – Polycystic ovarian syndrome. Comparison- Not having Polycystic ovarian syndrome. Outcome- Endometrial cancer. Method: Search terms and keywords were identified and combined with search tools to create a search strategy on online databases. EBSCO, PubMed Central and ProQuest amongst others were searched for relevant studies along with grey literature. PRISMA framework was used to select the relevant key articles. A set of inclusion and exclusion criteria was applied to target and assess eligibility of articles. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool (2018) was used to critically appraise the literature. Results: Five key studies were eligible for this review; three systematic reviews, a cohort study, and a case controlstudy. Results of the studies were consistent, with the majority showing a significantly higher risk of endometrial cancer in the polycystic ovarian syndrome group than the control group. Conclusion: The results gathered show that there is an increased risk of developing endometrial cancer in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome. Notwithstanding the results, more research should be implemented to address the limiters mentioned in this dissertation. Implications and recommendations: Educating health care professionals and women diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome is important for better practices. Also, including a larger sample is significant so as to compare with the results of this review.