Estimates of the worldwide incidence, mortality and prevalence of 26 cancers in the year 2002 are now available in the GLOBOCAN series of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The results are presented here in summary form, including the geographic variation between 20 large "areas" of the world. Overall, there were 10.9 million new cases, 6.7 million deaths, and 24.6 million persons alive with cancer (within three years of diagnosis). The most commonly diagnosed cancers are lung (1.35 million), breast (1.15 million), and colorectal (1 million); the most common causes of cancer death are lung cancer (1.18 million deaths), stomach cancer (700,000 deaths), and liver cancer (598,000 deaths). The most prevalent cancer in the world is breast cancer (4.4 million survivors up to 5 years following diagnosis). There are striking variations in the risk of different cancers by geographic area. Most of the international variation is due to exposure to known or suspected risk factors related to lifestyle or environment, and provides a clear challenge to prevention.

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3322/canjclin.55.2.74

Global cancer statistics, 2002.

background The influence of excess body weight on the risk of death from cancer has not been fully characterized. methods In a prospectively studied population of more than 900,000 U.S. adults (404,576 men and 495,477 women) who were free of cancer at enrollment in 1982, there were 57,145 deaths from cancer during 16 years of follow-up. We examined the relation in men and women between the body-mass index in 1982 and the risk of death from all cancers and from cancers at individual sites, while controlling for other risk factors in multivariate proportional-hazards models. We calculated the proportion of all deaths from cancer that was attributable to overweight and obesity in the U.S. population on the basis of risk estimates from the current study and national estimates of the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the U.S. adult population. results The heaviest members of this cohort (those with a body-mass index [the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters] of at least 40) had death rates from all cancers combined that were 52 percent higher (for men) and 62 percent higher (for women) than the rates in men and women of normal weight. For men, the relative risk of death was 1.52 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.13 to 2.05); for women, the relative risk was 1.62 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.40 to 1.87). In both men and women, body-mass index was also significantly associated with higher rates of death due to cancer of the esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and kidney; the same was true for death due to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Significant trends of increasing risk with higher body-mass-index values were observed for death from cancers of the stomach and prostate in men and for death from cancers of the breast, uterus, cervix, and ovary in women. On the basis of associations observed in this study, we estimate that current patterns of overweight and obesity in the United States could account for 14 percent of all deaths from cancer in men and 20 percent of those in women. conclusions Increased body weight was associated with increased death rates for all cancers combined and for cancers at multiple specific sites.

/pdf/overweight-obesity-and-mortality-from-cancer-in-a-3whc0l70ow.pdf

Overweight, obesity, and mortality from cancer in a prospectively studied cohort of U.S. adults.

The 11th edition of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine welcomes Anthony Fauci to its editorial staff, in addition to more than 85 new contributors. While the organization of the book is similar to previous editions, major emphasis has been placed on disorders that affect multiple organ systems. Important advances in genetics, immunology, and oncology are emphasized. Many chapters of the book have been rewritten and describe major advances in internal medicine. Subjects that received only a paragraph or two of attention in previous editions are now covered in entire chapters. Among the chapters that have been extensively revised are the chapters on infections in the compromised host, on skin rashes in infections, on many of the viral infections, including cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus, on sexually transmitted diseases, on diabetes mellitus, on disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, and on lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. The major revisions in these chapters and many

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine

Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Epidemiology and Molecular Carcinogenesis

CA : A Cancer Journal for Clinicians

Background The causes of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia are poorly understood. We conducted an epidemiologic investigation of the possible association between gastroesophageal reflux and these tumors. Methods We performed a nationwide, population-based, case–control study in Sweden. Case ascertainment was rapid, and all cases were classified uniformly. Information on the subjects' history of gastroesophageal reflux was collected in personal interviews. The odds ratios were calculated by logistic regression, with multivariate adjustment for potentially confounding variables. Results Of the patients interviewed, the 189 with esophageal adenocarcinoma and the 262 with adenocarcinoma of the cardia constituted 85 percent of the 529 patients in Sweden who were eligible for the study during the period from 1995 through 1997. For comparison, we interviewed 820 control subjects from the general population and 167 patients with esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma. Among persons with recurrent sy...

https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199903183401101

Symptomatic Gastroesophageal Reflux as a Risk Factor for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

The association between body mass index and esophageal carcinoma was strong and was not explained by bias or confounding. The carcinogenic mechanism, however, remains to be clarified. The increasin...

Association between Body Mass and Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus and Gastric Cardia

Objective: We evaluated the relation between obesity and the risks for various forms of cancer.

/pdf/a-prospective-study-of-obesity-and-cancer-risk-sweden-2e1ccya4ea.pdf

A prospective study of obesity and cancer risk (Sweden).

Few large-scale epidemiologic studies have quantified the possible link between obesity and chronic renal failure (CRF) This study analyzed anthropometric data from a nationwide, population-based, case-control study of incident, moderately severe CRF Eligible as cases were all native Swedes who were aged 18 to 74 yr and had CRF and whose serum creatinine for the first time and permanently exceeded 34 mg/dl (men) or 28 mg/dl (women) during the study period A total of 926 case patients and 998 control subjects, randomly drawn from the study base, were enrolled Face-to-face interviews, supplemented with self-administered questionnaires, provided information about anthropometric measures and other lifestyle factors Logistic regression models with adjustments for several co-factors estimated the relative risk for CRF in relation to body mass index (BMI) Overweight (BMI>or=25 kg/m2) at age 20 was associated with a significant three-fold excess risk for CRF, relative to BMI or=30) among men and morbid obesity (BMI>or=35) among women anytime during lifetime was linked to three- to four-fold increases in risk The strongest association was with diabetic nephropathy, but two- to three-fold risk elevations were observed for all major subtypes of CRF Analyses that were confined to strata without hypertension or diabetes revealed a three-fold increased risk among patients who were overweight at age 20, whereas the two-fold observed risk elevation among those who had a highest lifetime BMI of >35 was statistically nonsignificant Obesity seems to be an important-and potentially preventable-risk factor for CRF Although hypertension and type 2 diabetes are important mediators, additional pathways also may exist

Obesity and Risk for Chronic Renal Failure

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(97)10018-6.pdf

Olof Nyrén

Papers

Symptomatic Gastroesophageal Reflux as a Risk Factor for Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Association between Body Mass and Adenocarcinoma of the Esophagus and Gastric Cardia

A prospective study of obesity and cancer risk (Sweden).

Obesity and Risk for Chronic Renal Failure

Venous thromboembolism and cancer