This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
High BMI, body fat percentage may increase risk for thyroid cancer
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Body size measurements, particularly BMI and percentage of body fat, appear to significantly relate to an increased risk for papillary thyroid cancer, according to recent findings.
In the pooled analysis, researchers analyzed data from three case-control studies conducted between 1999 and 2013 in the United States, Italy and Germany. The combined studies comprised 1,917 patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and 2,127 control participants with no history of cancer.
The US study consisted of 417 patients with recently diagnosed PTC seen at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a control group of 489 visitors to the hospital. The study in Italy included 1,040 patients with PTC treated at the University Hospital of Cisanello and the 851 members of the hospital staff with no history of cancer or thyroid disease. In Germany, the study consisted of 460 patients with PTC and 787 control patients without cancer recruited from the German University Hospitals of Hannover Medical School, University Clinic Würzburg, and the Central Hospital of the German Federal Armed Forces in Koblenz. The study investigators collected various anthropometric measurements at the time of recruitment, including height and weight, BMI, body fat percentage and body surface area (BSA).
The researchers used an unconditional logistic regression model to calculate adjusted ORs and 95% CIs for each body measurement relevant to risk for PTC.
The researchers found that in the combined population, in both genders, there was an increased risk for PTC linked to higher weight, BMI, body fat percentage and BSA. Conversely, greater height in both genders was found to be associated with a decreased risk for PTC in the pooled population. The OR for overweight participants compared with underweight and normal-weight patients was 1.73 (95% CI, 1.49-2.01) and the OR for obese patients compared with underweight and normal-weight participants was 4.19 (95% CI, 3.43-5.12). The ORs for the highest quartile of body fat percentage vs. the lowest quartile of body fat percentage were 3.83 (95% CI, 2.85-5.15) in women and 4.05 (95% CI, 2.67-6.15) in men.
Although the underlying cause of these associations is not clear, the researchers wrote that BMI may be indicative of insulin resistance and chronic low-grade inflammation, which are known to be significant precipitators of carcinogenesis and tumor growth. Additionally, the researchers noted that BMI has been linked to higher levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, which is predictive of differentiated thyroid cancer.
“Future studies of anthropometric factors and PTC that incorporate intermediate factors, including adiposity and hormone biomarkers, are essential to help clarify potential mechanisms of the relationship,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts