Study: Obesity Linked to Pancreatic Cancer

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People who are overweight or obese as young adults have an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer, and being obese at an older age is associated with a lower overall survival rate for patients with pancreatic cancer, according to a new study.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death for both men and women in the United States. As the prevalence obesity increases, accumulating evidence has emerged that excess body weight is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Donghui Li, Ph.D., of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and colleagues conducted a study to determine the associations between body mass index (BMI) over a lifetime and pancreatic cancer risk, age at onset, and overall patient survival. The study included 841 patients with pancreatic cancer and 754 healthy individuals matched by age, race, and sex. Height and body weight histories were collected by personal interview, starting at ages 14 to 19 years and over 10-year intervals progressing to the year prior to recruitment in the study.

The researchers found individuals who were overweight (a BMI of 25-29.9) from the ages of 14 to 39 years or obese (a BMI of 30 or greater) from the ages of 20 to 49 years had an associated increase in risk of pancreatic cancer, independent of diabetes status.

The association between average BMI and risk of pancreatic cancer was stronger in men than in women. The association was statistically significant for each age group from 14 to 69 years in men, but only from ages 14 to 39 years in women. The estimated association of average BMI with cancer risk also was slightly stronger in ever smokers than in never smokers.

Individuals who were overweight or obese from the ages of 20 to 49 years had an earlier onset of pancreatic cancer by 2 to 6 years. Age of onset was 64 years for patients with normal weight, 61 years for overweight patients, and 59 years for obese patients.

Compared with those with normal body weight and after adjusting for all clinical factors, individuals who were overweight or obese from the ages of 30 to 79 years or in the year prior to recruitment had reduced overall survival of pancreatic cancer regardless of disease stage and tumor resection status.

"While our observations require confirmation, they provide support for a role of excess body weight in the development and progression of pancreatic cancer," the authors conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, June 24, 2009

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