Obese Young May Raise Pancreatic Cancer

Young adults who are overweight or obese run a higher risk of developing deadly pancreatic cancer and older people who are obese and who develop pancreatic cancer have a lower survival rate, say researchers.

A study done by researchers at the University of Texax M.D. Anderson Cancer Center looked at 841 patients who had pancreatic cancer and 754 healthy individuals, looked at weight, body mass index (BMI), ages, number of people who developed pancreatic cancer, survival rates, and smoking status.

A press release, issued by the JAMA and Archives Journal, which published the study findings:

The researchers found that individuals who were overweight (a BMI of 25-29.9) from the ages of 14 to 39 years or obese (a BMI of 30 or greater) from the ages of 20 to 49 years had an associated increased risk of pancreatic cancer, independent of diabetes status. The association between average BMI (per 5-unit increase) and risk of pancreatic cancer was stronger in men than in women. The association was statistically significant for each age group from 14 to 69 years in men but only from ages 14 to 39 years in women. The estimated association of average BMI (per 5-unit increase) with cancer risk also was slightly stronger in ever smokers than in never smokers. It was estimated that 10.3 percent of never smokers and 21.3 percent of ever smokers had pancreatic cancer attributable to being overweight or obese at an early age prior to cancer diagnosis (i.e., from the ages of 14-59 years).

This is an extremely important finding because the North American population is growing in size and obesity is hitting epidemic proportions. If pancreatic cancer, a very difficult to treat cancer and often fatal one, is related to a preventable cause, then this needs to be a serious public issue.

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