Obesity could impact on colon cancer recovery

It has been known for a long time that being obese can impact on a number of areas of health, from putting a strain on the heart to an increased risk of getting type-2 diabetes, but new research has shown that it can also affect colon cancer.

Research published in the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research found that obese patients with colon cancer are at a greater risk of death or getting the disease again, when compared to normal weight people.

Frank Sinicrope, professor of medicine and oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, said that while it has been known for a while that obesity increases the risk of getting colon cancer, this research shows that it also has a detrimental effect on the patient post surgery.

The study looked at more than 4,000 patients with stage two or three colon cancer, of which 20 per cent were obese. It found that obesity was linked to poorer overall survival rates, with this being stronger in men.

It found that men in the highest body mass index category had a 35 per cent higher risk of death when compared to normal weight people. However, Mr Sinicrope said that using body mass index is a limited measure, saying: "We do not know if this is due to biology or the way we measure obesity.

"There is evidence that abdominal fat may be a better predictor of colon cancer risk and perhaps prognosis in men than in women."

The research follows findings from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center researchers, which stated that a gene signature found in mice could show which patients are at risk of cancer recurrence.

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Posted by Stephen Tate 

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