Pancreatic Cancer and Overweight

New Study Shows Strong Link Between Pancreatic Cancer and Being Overweight

Early Adulthood at higher risk

by Beth Jones
July 29, 2009

A study released by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Austin, Texas shows a strong link between early adulthood obesity and pancreatic cancer. Dr. Donghui Li authored the study, and says pancreatic cancer patients and cancer-free subjects were interviewed and asked to plot their weight at certain ages, beginning with ages 14-19, then through their 20's, 30's and so on. She said they found a strong connection between early adulthood overweight/obesity and getting pancreatic cancer.

How it worked
Two groups were interviewed(cancer-free and cancer patients) and then grouped according to age, sex, and race. All filled out a detailed questionnaires with questions relating to:

• smoking history
• family history of cancer
• general medical history
• HEIGHT AND BODY WEIGHT AT AGES 14-19, 20'S, 30'S, 40'S 50'S AND 60'S ETC AND THE YEAR PRIOR TO DIAGNOSIS OR ENROLLMENT IN THE STUDY

The subjects' BMI or body mass index was then calculated for each age bracket and classified as either normal, overweight or obese. Those with overweight or obese BMI's were compared between the cancer patient group and non-cancer group. In the cancer group, the average age of cancer diagnosis was looked at as well as overall survival rate/time among those who were of normal, overweight, or obese body mass index.

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What they Found

In addition to reconfirming an overall connection between obesity and pancreatic cancer, the findings showed that there was a stronger link between those that were overweight or obese in early adulthood, 20's and 30's, and diagnosis with pancreatic cancer than those who became overweight in later years:

• those who were overweight from age 14-19 showed a 60% higher risk
• those overweight in 20's and 30's showed two to three times higher risk of the disease
• those overweight from 40's on leveled off and after 50's risk was not significantly higher

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Early Onset and Survival

Dr. Li says something else the study found was a link between obesity and earlier onset of the disease. The study found that those who were of a normal weight had an average age of 64 when diagnosed. Those who were overweight had an average age of 61 and 59 for diagnosis. Moreover, patients who were of a normal weight survived an average of 18 months after diagnosis, compared to 13 months for those overweight or obese. Pancreatic Cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United States.