A new study has revealed that children with obesity diagnosed with cancer face poorer health outcomes, including an increased risk of relapse and death. The research, conducted by Canadian scientists, analyzed the data of over 11,000 cancer patients aged 2 to 19, of whom 10.5% were obese at the time of their diagnosis.
The study found that obesity was strongly associated with worse outcomes across various types of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, and other tumors. Obese children had a 16% higher risk of relapse and a 29% higher risk of death within five years of diagnosis, after adjusting for factors such as age, sex, and ethnicity.
“Our study highlights the negative impact of obesity across all types of childhood cancers,” said Thai Hoa Tran, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist at the University Hospital Centre Sainte-Justine in Montreal, and one of the study’s authors. “It provides the rationale to evaluate different strategies to mitigate the adverse risk of obesity on cancer outcomes in future trials.”
The impact was particularly pronounced in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and those with brain tumors. Researchers noted that adipose tissue cells—fat cells—may play an active role in promoting tumor development, metastases, or resistance to treatment.
The study also highlighted concerns regarding the potential for undertreatment or inappropriate chemotherapy dosing for obese patients. However, the authors acknowledged some limitations in their study, particularly the use of body mass index (BMI) to assess obesity, which they noted can be an imperfect measure of body composition and nutritional status.
The findings further underline the importance of addressing childhood obesity, which continues to be a significant public health challenge.
