Abdominal Fat, Not BMI, Predicts Cancer Risk
Trunk fat was associated with an increased risk for developing cancer in post-menopausal women, according to the findings of a recent study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology. These findings support the growing body of evidence that suggest that fat distribution might be more effective for determining cancer risk than body mass index (BMI) or whole-body fat percentage.1
While obesity has been linked to increased risks for various cancers, epidemiological studies have mainly used non-specific assessments, such as BMI, to evaluated this relationship.
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In their study, the researchers sought to determine whether the relationship between obesity and cancer was mediated by body fat composition using dual-energy X-ray (DXA) scans from 5858 post-menopausal women enrolled in the Prospective Epidemiologic Risk Factor study. DXA scans were collected at baseline, and cancer diagnoses and causes of death were obtained from Danish registries until 2012.
Overall, the researchers observed 801 cancer events, of which, 289 were breast and ovarian cancers, 342 were lung and gastrointestinal cancers, and 170 were other cancers.
Trunk fat was found to be an independent predictor of cancer incidence in multivariable analysis. However, BMI and fat percentage were not independent predictors of cancer.
In analyses that divided cancer incidence by type, the researchers found that women with a high abdominal fat ratio had an over 50% increased risk for developing lung and gastrointestinal cancers compared with women with low abdominal fat ratio.
“When assessing cancer risk, BMI and fat percentage may not be adequate measures as they fail to assess the distribution of fat mass,” the researchers concluded. “Avoiding central obesity may confer the best protection.”2
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
1) Staunstrup LM, Christensen JF, Nielsen HB, et al. A study of body fat composition, derived from DXA-scans, in association with cancer incidence in postmenopausal women. Presented at: European Society for Medical Oncology September 8-12; Madrid, ES. Abstract 1408P_PR.
2) Abdominal fat a key cancer driver for postmenopausal women [press release]. Madrid, ES: European Society for Medical Oncology; September 10, 2017. http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/ESMO-2017-Congress/Press-Media/Press-Releases/Abdominal-Fat-a-Key-Cancer-Driver-for-Postmenopausal-Women.