Cancer and Obesity

One study, using NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, estimated that in 2007 in the United States, about 34,000 new cases of cancer in men (4 percent) and 50,500 in women (7 percent) were due to obesity. Recent studies indicate that obesity and being overweight may increase the risk of death from many cancers, accounting for up to 14 percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent of cancer deaths in women. NCI:Fact Sheet:Obesity

According to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer:

• Considerable evidence suggests that excess weight may be associated with increased risk of other cancers, including gallbladder, liver, thyroid, and hematopoietic cancers.
• Lack of physical activity is associated with increased risk of colon, endometrial and postmenopausal and maybe premenopausal breast cancer.
• Excess weight is associated with poorer survival among patients with breast cancer and colorectal cancer.” Eheman C, et al Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008, Cancer 2012 May 1;118(9):2338-66

The connection between obesity and cancer have been attributed to:
Hormones, growth factor and inflammation.

Patients who are overweight should go for cancer screening regularly. This should include blood tests and endosopy foe men and women and additionally mammogra/ultrasound of breast and Pap smear for women.