By David Liu
Obese people are more likely to develop cancer of the gullet than those with a normal body weight, a new study finds. But the finding does not mean that obesity is the cause of the disease.
The study published in the British journal Gut looked at 793 people with esophageal cancer and 1,580 controls matched for age and residence location.
The study found people with a body mass index of 40 or higher were six times more at risk than those with a BMI between 18.5 and 25, which is normal by definition.
Those with obesity and acid reflux were 16 times more likely to have the disease.
The association was still significant even after other factor such as smoking and alcohol consumption were taken into account.
In obese people, high levels of insulin boost production of insulin-like growth factor which is known to stimulate cell growth and inhibits apoptosis, programmed deaths of cells. Both may increase the cancer risk.
But further research is needed to confirm the mechanism. The study per se could not reveal any causal relationship between obesity and esophageal cancer.
A scientist affiliated with foodconsumer.org, who was not part of the study team, said that obesity may be a marker. If the association turns out to be causal, then the risk factors for obesity may also be risk factors for the cancer also obesity in itself may also be a risk factor.
Esophageal cancer is expected to be diagnosed in 15,560 men and women and kills 13,940 in the United States this year.
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