Obesity Increases Mortality in Colon Cancer Patients

The researchers found that women considered "underweight" or "obese," or who had increased abdominal obesity prior to cancer diagnosis seemed to face a greater risk of mortality.
"Maintaining a healthy body weight is beneficial for postmenopausal women. This may also be beneficial for those diagnosed with colon cancer later in life. It looks like abdominal obesity may be a useful indicator of higher colon cancer mortality," said Anna E. Prizment, Ph.D., M.P.H., a postdoctoral fellow in the division of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota, Masonic Cancer Center. "It is too early to say whether a decrease in weight characteristics after diagnosis will also decrease mortality risk; at that point it may be too late. Therefore, it's best to maintain a normal, healthy body weight throughout life."
Women classified as obese, with a BMI of at least 30 kg/m2, had a 45 percent increased overall mortality rate. The few women classified as underweight, with a BMI less than 18.5 kg/m2, had an 89 percent increased mortality rate compared to those with normal BMI.
However, the facts that the increased abdominal obesity was associated with colon cancer mortality and those associations persisted after correcting for age, stage at cancer diagnosis and comorbidities suggest that obesity could have a direct biological effect. Obese women, especially those with higher abdominal obesity, have higher hormone levels and may have more aggressive cancer. These women have been already known to have a higher risk of developing colon cancer.
Prizment encouraged further investigation of the potential effect of obesity