Only News Photos Video/Audio OBESITY RAISES CANCER RISK BY AMANDA GARDNER _HealthDay Reporter_ _2 hours, 16 minutes ago_ FRIDAY, Feb.News) The more weight you carry on your body, the greater your odds of developing cancer, British researchers report.This is true not only of fairlymon cancers such as colon and breast, but also of lesser known varieties, including gallbladder.The degree of risk differs between men and women and among different ethnic groups, report the authors of aprehensive new paper appearing in this weeks issue of _The Lancet_."This is a profoundly important issue.The obesity epidemic is a huge problem itself, and the relationship to cancer is only one of the many adverse health effects of being overweight and obese," said Dr.Thun, head of epidemiological research at the American Cancer Society.Evidence has been accumulating now for over 10 years..Study tries to provide a quantitative measure of how much the relative risk goes up with each increment, basically jumping from one BMI category to another.Although extra fat has already been identified by research as a risk factor for several different types of cancer, Thun said, "the problem of obesity is so large and so difficult to solve that theres a very sound reason for ongoing studies of things that have be increasingly well-known, just because it helps the momentum in stimulating approaches that will actually help people maintain a healthy weight.Last year, a report issued by the American Institute of Cancer Research and the U.World Cancer Research Fund concluded that body fat is associated with an increased risk for several different types of cancer including esophageal adenocarcinoma, as well as cancers of the pancreas, colon and rectum, breast (postmenopausal), endometrium and kidney.Although that report was one of the mostprehensive to date, it did leave some questions unanswered.Instance, are there associations between lessmon cancers and body weight, and do the associations differ between the sexes and people of different ethnic backgrounds?The issue is a pressing one, with about two-thirds of adult men and women in the United States overweight or obese.Number is only expected to increase as people continue to eat more and exercise less.This study, from scientists at the University of Manchester, analyzed 141 articles involving 282,137 cancer cases and 20 different types of malignancies to determine the cancer risk associated with a 5 kilogram-per-meter-squared increase in BMI, roughly the increase that would bump a person from middle-normal weight into overweight.In men, such an increase in BMI raised the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma by 52 percent, thyroid cancer by 33 percent, and colon and kidney cancer by 24 percent each.In women, the same increase in BMI increased the risk of endometrial and gallbladder cancer by 59 percent each, esophageal adenocarcinoma by 51 percent, and kidney cancer by 34 percent.In men, there were weaker associations between increased BMI and rectal cancer and melanoma.Women, there were weaker associations between increased BMI and postmenopausal breast, pancreatic, thyroid and colon cancers.In both genders, there were associations between increased BMI and leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.For colon cancer, the associations were stronger in men than in women (24 percent vs.Percent).There were stronger associations in Asia-Pacific populations between greater BMI and both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancers.Although the main message is still to maintain a healthy weight, this research might indicate earlier screening for certain cancers, said Dr.Interim chief of the gastroenterology division at Ireland Cancer Center of University Hospitals and Caseprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland.Someone is obese, then lower the threshold for screening," he said.Of the cancers they identified is esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is not asmon as colon cancer, but it is increasing in incidence.Is thought to be related to reflux, so as a gastroenterologist, if I have a patient who has reflux and is obese, I might lower the threshold for doing an endoscopy.Other cancers like colon cancer, those guidelines are pretty well-established, and this probably wouldnt change practice.Experts arent sure why extra fat can lead to malignancies, but changes in the circulating levels of various hormones (insulin, insulin-like growth factors and sex steroids) might explain the link.Heres more bad news as the world heads for a smoke-free future: An apanyingmentary from Swedish researchers notes that as people quit smoking (the biggest cause of cancer in developed countries), weight gain may be the main lifestyle factor contributing to new cancers.MORE INFORMATION Visit the for more on the different types of cancer.Read more Suboxone (buprenophine/naloxone) launched in uk for maintenance treatment of opioid dependence
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