Excess Weight Helps Colon Cancer Survival

Robert Preidt recently wrote an article that actually supports excess weight in some people.  It has been reported through a new study that overweight colon cancer patients tend to have a better survival rate than their normal-weight peers.

Those who are overweight and obese have been identified as risk factors for any health conditions, but that extra weight may provide protection against mortality for those with colorectal cancer.  This particular study was lead by author Candyce Kroenke, who is a research scientist at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA. However, one health expert cautions that the finding is no license for people to pile on all that excess poundage.  Being obese does expose one to higher cancer risks.

Gastroenterologist Dr. Arun Swaminath of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City says that this study should not be used to describe an “upside” of being overweight with regard to cancer risk, since overweight people develop cancer at higher rates.  

Kroenke’s team examined the medical records of more than 3,400 people in California that were diagnosed with stages 1-3 of colon cancer between the years of 2006 and 2011.  They then compared each patient’s risk of death at the time of diagnosis and then over the following 15 months. Those who were either underweight or statistically obese at diagnosis were more likely to die than normal-weight patients, according to the study.

The people who fell into the overweight but not obese category were 55% less likely to die from colon cancer and 48% less likely to die from any cause than normal-weight patients.  Research has previously shown that overweight and obese people are at higher risk for several types of cancers. This class of people often has better cancer outcomes than the normal-weight patients and are referred to as the “obesity paradox.”  

This observational study represents the largest cohort of colorectal cancer patients with the most comprehensive data regarding patient weight before, at time of, and following diagnosis, which supports the notion of the obesity paradox. Because this is an observational study it cannot prove that weight helped to cause or shield against death in these patients. Another expert indicated the information is important, but shouldn’t be overgeneralized.  Dr. Jules Garbus, a colorectal surgeon at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. feels that this study reinforces the fact that colorectal cancer treatment needs to be individualized for each patient and practitioners must exercise caution when discussing any “benefits” of being overweight with patients because there is stronger data to support the dangers of obesity on overall health and well-being.

-Dr Fredda Branyon

image c/o pixabay