Submit a comment
Abstract
Obesity is a known driver of endometrial cancer. In this issue of the JCI, Gómez-Banoy and colleagues investigated a cohort of patients with advanced endometrial cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the interaction between programmed cell death receptor-1 (PD-1) and its ligand (PD-L1). Notably, a BMI in the overweight or obese range was paradoxically associated with improved progression-free and overall survival. A second paradox emerged from CT analyses of visceral adipose tissue, viewed as an unhealthy fat depot in most other contexts, the quantity of which was also associated with improved treatment outcomes. Though visceral adiposity may have value as a biomarker to inform personalized treatment strategies, of even greater impact would be if a therapeutic strategy emerges from the future identification of adipose-derived mediators of this putative anticancer immune-priming effect.
Authors
Matthew L. Steinhauser
Guidelines
The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.
- Comments appear on the Journal’s website and are linked from the original article’s web page.
- Authors are notified by email if their comments are posted.
- The Journal reserves the right to edit comments for length and clarity.
- No appeals will be considered.
- Comments are not indexed in PubMed.
Specific requirements
- Maximum length, 400 words
- Entered as plain text or HTML
- Author’s name and email address, to be posted with the comment
- Declaration of all potential conflicts of interest (even if these are not ultimately posted); see the Journal’s conflict-of-interest policy
- Comments may not include figures
Copyright © 2026 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)