Global burden of cancer attributable to high body-mass index in 2012: a population-based study

By M. Arnold, N. Pandeya, G. Byrnes, G. ProfAndrew, Renehan, Gretchen A Stevens, Parinaz Ezzati, FmedSci, J. Ferlay, J. J. Miranda and 5 more. The Lancet Oncology, 2014

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Background Excess body mass index (BMI) is associated with increased risk of cancer. To inform public health policyand future research, we estimated the global burden of cancer attributable to excess BMI. Methods Population attributable fractions (PAFs) were derived using relative risks and BMI estimates in adults by age, sex and country. Assuming a10-year lag-period, PAFs were calculated using BMI estimates in 2002. GLOBOCAN2012 was used to compute numbers of new cancer cases attributable to excess BMI. In an alternative scenario, we computed the proportion of potentially avoidable cancers assuming that populations maintained their BMI-level observed in 1982. Secondary analyses were performed to test the model and estimate the impactof hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and smoking. Findings Worldwide, we estimated that 481,000 or 3·6% of all new cancer cases in 2012 were attributable to excess BMI. PAFs were greater in women compared with men (5·4% versus 1·9%). The burden was concentrated in countries with very high and high human development index (HDI, PAF: 5·3% and 4·8%) compared with countries with moderate and low HDI (PAF: 1·6% and 1·0%). Corpus uteri, post-menopausal breast and colon cancers accounted for approximately two-thirds (64%) of excess BMI attributable cancers. One fourth (~118,000) of all cases related to excess BMI in 2012 could be attributed to the rising BMI since 1982. Interpretation These findings further underpin the need for a global effort to abate the rising trends in population-level excess weight. Assuming that the relationship between excess BMI and cancer is causal and the current pattern of population weight gain continues, this will likely augment the future burden of cancer. Funding World Cancer Research Fund, Marie Currie Fellowship, the National Health and Medical Research Council Australia and US NIH.

Subfields: Epidemiology, Molecular Biology, Oncology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5f0c3e19aa5014a6ef13b61166201a347784e530

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Citations in the corpus

Global Cancer in Women: Burden and Trends (2017, background): “A substantial proportion of uterine corpus cancers could be avoided throughmaintenance of a healthy weight (73).”
Proportion and number of cancer cases and deaths attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors in the United States (2018, result): “We estimated that nearly 7% to 8% of all cancer cases and deaths in the United States were attributable to excess body weight and 4% to 6% of cases and deaths were due to alcohol intake, respectively, similar to other recent estimates.(6,7,11,75) Previous PAFs for poor diet included variable dietary”
Obesity and cancer risk: Emerging biological mechanisms and perspectives. (2019, background): “1% in women for all obesity-related malignancies with a substantial worldwide variation depending on the prevalence of obesity and the relative risk estimates [52].”