Li, D. et al. Body mass index and risk, age of onset, and survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. JAMA 301, 2553–2562 (2009).
Obesity is a known risk factor for several types of cancer, including pancreatic cancer. Li and colleagues, therefore, conducted a study at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center that aimed to assess the relationships between BMI over an individual's lifetime and the risk, age of onset, and outcome of pancreatic cancer. 841 patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were compared with 754 healthy controls. All participants completed a questionnaire administered at a personal interview to collect information on known risk factors, such as cigarette smoking and family history of cancer, and suspected risk factors, such as alcohol use and history of body weight. Each participant was asked to recall their body weight at the age of 14–19 years and subsequently in 10-year blocks (age 20–29 years to age 70–79 years). Patients with pancreatic cancer were also asked to recall their body weight in the year preceding diagnosis. The researchers calculated BMI values for each participant over their lifetime to compare the prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m2) or obesity (BMI >30 kg/m2) at different age periods between cancer patients and cancer-free controls. Age at cancer diagnosis and overall survival duration were compared among normal-weight, overweight and obese cancer patients.
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