Table 5.
Cancers associated with obesity based upon epidemiologic/observational and Mendelian randomization studies. The reported associations and strength of association of obesity to specific cancers vary depending on the reported analyses. Shown are the strength of evidence of the association based upon observational studies, [[88], [89], [90], [91], [92], [93]] as well as support from Mendelian Randomization [85,[94], [95], [96], [97]]. With rare exceptions (i.e., meningioma), cancers having the both epidemiologic/observational and Mendelian evidence of obesity-related causality are cancers of organs associated with the gastrointestinal system, genitourinary system, and sex hormone sensitive tissues. Because of the data considered, the cancers listed in this table may not be consistent with the 13 commonly cited increased adiposity-related cancers listed in Table 2. This table is intended to be an evolving one, with future analyses and updates altering the table conclusions (with the same principle likely to apply to the 13 cancers listed in Table 2).
|
CANCERS OFTEN REPORTED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH OBESITY | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cancer | Strength of Evidence based on epidemiologic observational studies | Mendelian Randomization Support |
| Biliary tract cancer | Inadequate | Not sufficient evidence |
| Bladder cancer | Yes to Inadequate | Yes |
| Brain cancer (i.e., meningiomas) | Sufficient | Yes to No |
| Breast cancer female (i.e., postmenopausal) | Sufficient | Yes (or not sufficient power) |
| Cervical cancer | Cervical cancer risk may be increased because of underdiagnosis of cervical precancer | Yes |
| Colorectal cancer | Sufficient | Yes |
| Endometrial/uterine cancer | Sufficient | Yes |
| Esophageal cancer (i.e., adenocarcinoma, not squamous cell carcinoma) | Sufficient | Yes |
| Gallbladder cancer | Sufficient | Yes (or not sufficient power) |
| Head and neck squamous cell cancer | Inconsistent | No |
| Kidney/renal cancer | Sufficient | Yes |
| Leukemia | Limited | No |
| Liver cancer | Sufficient | Yes |
| Lung cancer | Inadequate | Yes |
| Multiple myeloma | Sufficient | No or not sufficient power |
| Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (i.e., diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) | Limited | No |
| Ovary cancer | Sufficient | Yes |
| Pancreatic cancer | Sufficient | Yes |
| Prostate cancer (fatal; prognosis is worse, not necessarily increased risk) | Limited | Not sufficient power |
| Skin cancer (i.e., melanoma) | Inadequate | No |
| Stomach cancer (i.e., cardia) | Sufficient | Yes (or not sufficient power) |
| Testicular cancer | Inadequate | No |
| Thyroid cancer | Sufficient | No (a potential association does exist between type 2 diabetes mellitus and thyroid cancer) |