Obesity has been the “face” of many diseases, including esophageal cancer. Here’s a look at two related studies.
The first study:
Dr. David Whiteman of Brisbane Hospital in Australia included 800 people with esophageal cancer and 1580 healthy adults in his study.
The results found that the prevalence of esophageal cancer was six times higher in people who were overly obese (BMI of at least 40) compared to those with a normal body mass index (BMI), and twice as high in those who were obese (BMI of 30 or more).
One of the highest risks for esophageal cancer is in overweight people with a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
The association between obesity and esophageal cancer is higher in men than in women, and obesity affects more people under age 50.
However, this study did not confirm that obesity directly causes esophageal cancer.
A second study:
Timothy L. Fitzgerald, chief of surgical oncology at the Lacks Cancer Center in Grand Rapids, said the dramatic rise in the incidence of esophageal cancer, primarily adenocarcinoma, in the United States has coincided with a rise in obesity rates.
Fitzgerald and his colleagues studied more than 7,300 cases of esophageal cancer in the Michigan Tumor Registry between 1986 and 2002. The results showed that the overall incidence of esophageal cancer in the United States has increased each year, but the incidence has decreased slightly in African-American women.
The researchers then looked at the body mass index (BMI) of the local population over the same period and found a similar upward trend in BMI.
William J. Blot, a cancer epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, commented on this, saying that avoiding obesity may reduce the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A third study:
This study, based on data from more than 400,000 people and led by Patrick Okolo, director of gastroenterology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, was published in the British Journal of Cancer.
The study showed that people who were overweight in their 20s had a 60 to 80 percent higher risk of developing esophageal and gastric cancers compared to those who were normal weight.
People who gain more than 18 kg at age 50 have a doubled risk of esophageal cancer and a modestly increased risk of stomach cancer.
The study also found that people who were obese at both 20 and 50 years of age had a three-fold or greater risk of developing esophageal and stomach cancers. That means that if a person is overweight in their 20s and continues to be obese later in life, they have an increased risk of developing esophageal and stomach cancers.
However, the study does not prove that weight gain causes esophageal or stomach cancer, but only points to an association between the two.
Summarizing these two studies, it’s clear that obesity is strongly associated with the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma, and that weight control can help keep this cancer away.