Objective: To evaluate the bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine and femur in postmenopausal women with cervical cancer and endometrial cancer without bone metastasis in comparison with that in healthy control postmenopausal women, and to assess the loss of BMD according to the cancer stage.
Materials and methods: We analyzed the BMD of the lumbar spine and femur using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 218 patients with cervical cancer, 85 patients with endometrial cancer, and 259 healthy controls. The serum levels of calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), osteocalcin (OSC), and total alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and urine deoxypyridinoline(DPL) were measured in all participants.
Results: Age, body mass index, parity, and time since menopause were not significantly different between the three groups. Serum Ca level was higher in the cervical cancer group (p = 0.000), however, urine DPL was lower in endometrial cancer group (p = 0.000). The T-scores of basal BMD at the second and fourth lumbar vertebra (L2, L4) were significantly lower in patients with cervical cancer (p = 0.038, 0.000, respectively) compared to those in the healthy control groups. Additionally, the incidence of osteoporosis and osteopenia basal status of bone mass was significantly higher in patients with cervical cancer compared to that in controls (p = 0.016). No differences in basal BMD of the lumbar spine and femur were observed between patients with cervical cancer according to their stages.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that postmenopausal women with cervical cancer have a lower BMD and are at increased risk of osteoporosis in the lumbar spine before receiving anticancer treatment compared with postmenopausal women with endometrial cancer.
Keywords: Bone density; Cervical cancer; Endometrial cancer; Osteopenia; Osteoporosis.