Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD) Is Associated with Cervical Stromal Involvement in Endometrial Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study in South China

Abstract

Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a significant health issue closely associated with multiple extrahepatic cancers. The association between MAFLD and clinical outcomes of endometrial cancer (EC) remains unknown. Methods: We retrospectively included 725 EC patients between January 2012 and December 2020. The odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using logistic regression analyses. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used for survival analysis. Results: Among EC patients, the prevalence of MAFLD was 27.7% (201/725, 95% confidence interval (Cl) = 0.245–0.311). MAFLD was significantly associated with cervical stromal involvement (CSI) (OR = 1.974, 95% confidence interval (Cl) = 1.065–3.659, p = 0.031). There was a significant correlation between overall survival (OS) and CSI (HR = 0.31; 95%CI: 0.12–0.83; p = 0.020), while patients with MAFLD had a similar OS to those without MAFLD (p = 0.952). Moreover, MAFLD was significantly associated with CSI in the type I EC subgroup (OR = 2.092, 95% confidence interval (Cl) = 1.060–4.129, p = 0.033), but not in the type II EC subgroup (p = 0.838). Further logistic regression analysis suggested that the hepatic steatosis index (HSI) was significantly associated with CSI among type I EC patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (OR = 1.079, 95% confidence interval (Cl) = 1.020–1.139, p = 0.012). Conclusions: About one-quarter of our cohort had MAFLD. MAFLD was associated with the risk of CSI in EC patients, and this association existed in type I EC patients but not in type II EC patients. Furthermore, the HSI can help predict CSI in type I EC patients without T2DM.

Keywords

• metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease
• endometrial cancer
• cervical stromal involvement
• hepatic steatosis index