Adiposity and sex-specific cancer risk

• Published in: Cancer cell Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 1186 - 1197.e4
• Main Authors: Rask-Andersen, Mathias, Ivansson, Emma, Höglund, Julia, Ek, Weronica E., Karlsson, Torgny, Johansson, Åsa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 12.06.2023
• Subjects: BMI; body fat distribution; cancer; cox proportional hazard modeling; obesity; risk factors; sex-interactions; UK Biobank; WHRadjBMI; cox proportional hazard modeling; risk factors; WHRadjBMI; body fat distribution; cancer; sex-interactions; UK Biobank; obesity; BMI
• ISSN: 1535-6108; 1878-3686; 1878-3686
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2023.05.010

Obesity is associated with several types of cancer and fat distribution, which differs dramatically between sexes, has been suggested to be an independent risk factor. However, sex-specific effects on cancer risk have rarely been studied. Here we estimate the effects of fat accumulation and distribution on cancer risk in females and males. We performed a prospective study in 442,519 UK Biobank participants, for 19 cancer types and additional histological subtypes, with a mean follow-up time of 13.4 years. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the effect of 14 different adiposity phenotypes on cancer rates, and a 5% false discovery rate was considered statistically significant. Adiposity-related traits are associated with all but three cancer types, and fat accumulation is associated with a larger number of cancers compared to fat distribution. In addition, fat accumulation or distribution exhibit differential effects between sexes on colorectal, esophageal, and liver cancer. [Display omitted] •Fat accumulation and distribution exert different effects on risk of specific cancers•Adiposity-associated risk for many cancers differs between males and females•Smoking habits strongly influence adiposity-associated lung cancer risk Rask-Andersen et al. show that the accumulation of fat, but also its location on the body, influences the risk of developing different types of cancer. For several cancers the effects are also different between males and females. The study provides guidance for more personalized preventive strategies against cancer.