(Press-News.org) Excess body weight causes around 481 000 new cancer cases a year in adults--or 3.6% of cancers worldwide--new estimates published in The Lancet Oncology suggest. The burden is far higher in more developed countries, with almost two-thirds (64%) of these obesity-related cancers occurring in North America and Europe.
Based on the results, the researchers led by Dr Melina Arnold from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), estimate that a quarter of all obesity-related cancers in 2012 (118 000 cases) were attributable to the rising average body mass index (BMI) in the population since 1982, and were therefore "realistically avoidable".
Using data from a number of sources including the GLOBOCAN database of cancer incidence and mortality for 184 countries, Arnold and colleagues created a model to estimate the fraction of cancers associated with excess bodyweight in countries and regions worldwide in 2012, and the proportion that could be attributed to increasing BMI since 1982.
The findings reveal that obesity-related cancer is a greater problem for women than men, largely due to endometrial (womb/uterus) and post-menopausal breast cancers. In men, excess weight was responsible for 1.9% or 136 000 new cancers in 2012, and in women it was 5.4% or 345 000 new cases.
Post-menopausal breast, endometrial, and colon cancers were responsible for almost three-quarters of the obesity-related cancer burden in women (almost 250 000 cases), while in men colon and kidney cancers accounted for over two-thirds of all obesity-related cancers (nearly 90 000 cases). See tables 1 and 2 pages 3-5.
In developed (very high human development index; HDI) countries, around 8% of cancers in women and 3% in men were associated with excess bodyweight, compared with just 1.5% of cancers in women and about 0.3% of cancers in men in developing countries (low HDI).
North America contributed by far the most cases with 111 000 cancers--equivalent to almost a quarter (23%) of all new obesity-related cancers globally--and sub-Saharan Africa contributed the least (7300 cancers or 1.5%). Within Europe, the burden was largest in eastern Europe, accounting for over a third of the total European cases due to excess BMI (66 000 cancers). See figure 1 page 7.
The proportion of obesity-related cancers varied widely between countries. In men, it was particularly high in the Czech Republic (5.5% of the country's new cancer cases in 2012), Jordan and Argentina (4.5%), and in the UK and Malta (4.4%). In women, it was strikingly high in Barbados (12.7%), followed by the Czech Republic (12%) and Puerto Rico (11.6%). It was lowest in both sexes in countries within sub-Saharan Africa (less than 2% in men and below 4% in women). For more detailed findings by individual region and country see figure 2 page 8 and appendix xiii.
According to Dr Arnold, "Our findings add support for a global effort to address the rising trends in obesity. The global prevalence of obesity in adults has doubled since 1980. If this trend continues it will certainly boost the future burden of cancer, particularly in South America and North Africa, where the largest increases in the rate of obesity have been seen over the last 30 years."*
Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Benjamin Cairns from the University of Oxford in the UK says, "If 3•6% of all cancers are associated with high BMI, that is nearly half a million cancers, but this number is large mainly because the world population is large. Global health resources specifically for cancer prevention are not so large, and the resources targeted at obesity must be balanced against those for other important causes of cancer, particularly infections and tobacco use, which are each associated with much larger proportions of cases."
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*Quote direct from author and cannot be found in text of Article.
CINCINNATI--University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have found in a phase-2 clinical trial that a Food and Drug Administration-approved therapy could be effective in treating both older and African American patients with advanced lung cancer who may not be candidates for chemotherapy.
These findings are published Nov. 25, 2014, in the online journal Clinical Medicine Insights: Oncology.
Nagla Karim, MD, PhD, associate professor in the division of hematology oncology at the UC College of Medicine and member of the Cincinnati Cancer Center and the UC Cancer Institute, ...
Endangered Snake River sockeye salmon are regaining the fitness of their wild ancestors, with naturally spawned juvenile sockeye migrating to the ocean and returning as adults at a much higher rate than others released from hatcheries, according to a newly published analysis. The analysis indicates that the program to save the species has succeeded and is now increasingly shifting to rebuilding populations in the wild.
Biologists believe the increased return rate of sockeye spawned naturally by hatchery-produced parents is high enough for the species to eventually sustain ...
Children who attended a full-day preschool program had higher scores on measures of school readiness skills (language, math, socio-emotional development, and physical health), increased attendance, and reduced chronic absences compared to children who attended part-day preschool, according to a study in the November 26 issue of JAMA.
Participation in high-quality early childhood programs at ages 3 and 4 years is associated with greater school readiness and achievement, higher rates of educational attainment and socioeconomic status, and lower rates of crime. Although ...
An examination of the potential interaction between pharmaceutical companies and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss future studies finds that one-quarter of recent new drug approvals occurred without any meeting, and when such meetings occurred, pharmaceutical companies did not comply with one-quarter of the recommendations made by the FDA regarding study design or primary outcome, according to a study in the November 26 issue of JAMA.
To enhance protocol quality, federal regulations encourage but do not require meetings between pharmaceutical companies ...
As the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday approaches this Thursday, November 27, NOAA's GOES-East and GOES-West satellites are keeping a weather eye out for storms that may affect early travelers. In an image from Nov. 25, the satellites show an active weather pattern is in place for travelers across the central and eastern U.S.
NOAA's GOES-East satellite provides visible and infrared images over the eastern U.S. and the Atlantic Ocean, while NOAA's GOES-West satellite covers the western U.S. and Pacific Ocean from its fixed orbit in space. Data from both satellites were combined ...
November 25, 2014--(BRONX, NY)--A study combining tumor cells from patients with breast cancer with a laboratory model of blood vessel lining provides the most compelling evidence so far that a specific trio of cells is required for the spread of breast cancer. The findings could lead to better tests for predicting whether a woman's breast cancer will spread and to new anti-cancer therapies. The study, led by researchers at the NCI-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center and Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care(MECCC), was published online today in Science Signaling.
According ...
PHILADELPHIA - New Penn Medicine research has found that elevated levels in the blood of the brain-enriched protein calpain-cleaved αII-spectrin N-terminal fragment, known as SNTF, shortly after sports-related concussion can predict the severity of post-concussion symptoms in professional athletes. The complete findings were released today in the Journal of Neurotrauma.
This new study builds on previous research from this group showing that elevated blood levels of SNTF on the day of a mild traumatic brain injury treated in the emergency room predicted those ...
TORONTO, Nov. 29, 2014--A chemical produced in the pancreas that prevented and even reversed Type 1 diabetes in mice had the same effect on human beta cells transplanted into mice, new research has found.
GABA, or gamma-aminobutryic acid, is an amino acid produced by the same beta cells that make and secrete insulin.
Drs. Gerald Prud'homme and Qinghua Wang of the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Sciences of St. Michael's Hospital published a paper in 2011 showing for the first time that GABA injections not only prevented Type 1 diabetes in mice, but even reversed ...
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Nanoporous metals -- foam-like materials that have some degree of air vacuum in their structure -- have a wide range of applications because of their superior qualities.
They posses a high surface area for better electron transfer, which can lead to the improved performance of an electrode in an electric double capacitor or battery. Nanoporous metals offer an increased number of available sites for the adsorption of analytes, a highly desirable feature for sensors.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Swiss Federal Institute of ...
WACO, Texas (Nov. 25, 2014) - Note to venture capitalists: Entrepreneurs are watching to see if you're naughty or nice.
A recently published study of more than 550 decisions and responses from 144 experienced entrepreneurs reveals that "knowledge of explicit ethical or unethical behavior (by venture capitalists) profoundly shapes the entrepreneurs' willingness to partner."
Baylor University researcher Matthew S. Wood, Ph.D., assistant professor of entrepreneurship in Baylor's Hankamer School of Business, co-authored the study, "Take the money or run? Investors' ethical ...
