Ovarian cancer has a higher death rate than other women's reproductive system cancers including ovarian and uterine cancers. Research suggests that obesity is associated with breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, and endometrial cancers. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that over two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and about half of those people are fully obese. Now research reports that overweight and obese women with advanced ovarian cancer have shorter survival rates.
The study, published in Cancer, investigated the influence of obesity on ovarian cancer survival and disease progression. Researchers from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, analyzed data from 216 women, average age late-50s to mid-60s, being treated for ovarian cancer between January 1, 1996 and June 30, 2003. The researchers obtained BMI (body mass index) measurements from the participants. They found that 8 percent of the participants were underweight, 50 percent had a normal BMI, 25 percent were overweight, and 16 percent were obese.
The researchers found that the average survival rate was lower for overweight or obese participants with advanced ovarian cancer. Furthermore, overweight and obese participants were more likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure. The study authors suggest that fat tissue may cause cancer cells to grow more aggressively.
"For patients with advanced stage disease, obesity was independently associated with both shorter time to recurrence and shorter overall survival," the study authors write. "These findings suggest an effect of excess body weight on tumor biology, and studies are under way to elucidate the molecular and hormonal mechanisms underlying these clinical observations."
REFERENCES:
1. Pavelka JC et al. Effect of obesity on survival in epithelial ovarian cancer. Cancer 2006 Oct 1;107(7):1520-4.
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on November 12, 2006 02:46 PM
