Thirteen. That’s right, thirteen different cancers are clearly linked to being overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those include cancers of the colon and rectum, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, breast, thyroid, meningioma (a type of brain lesion), esophagus, cancer of the blood cells (multiple myeloma), kidney, uterus, and ovaries. And they make up 40% of all cancers diagnosed each year in the United States alone. While cancers related to other factors decreased between 2005 and 2014, the rates of cancers related to obesity have increased.
On top of those 13 cancers there may also be a link between weight and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, male breast cancer, cancers of the mouth and throat and aggressive prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
And surveys show that 42% of American adults and 20% of children are obese. That is a concern not just for the risk of cancer, but also for the risk of other diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
How Weight Effects Cancer Risk
Here is why your weight affects your cancer risk. Extra body weight causes physical changes in the body including higher levels of inflammation, insulin, insulin-like growth factor and sex hormones. Overtime, these factors increase a person’s risk of cancer and can increase the chance of the cancer spreading.
Researchers are still trying to understand the link between cancer and being overweight — and how timing of weight gain affects the cancer risk as well. For instance, childhood obesity is more of a risk factor than gaining weight as an adult.
Lowering Your Risk of Weight-Related Cancer
While it is easier said than done, you can reduce your risk of these cancers by maintaining a healthy weight, eating right, and exercising. Talk to your doctor about a weight loss or weight maintenance plan that might be right for you, which may include medications like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Weight Loss Drugs Like Ozempic, Wegovy and Cancer Benefits and Risks
Since Ozempic, Wegovy and other weight loss drugs hit the market for type 2 diabetes and are now being used for obesity, doctors are cautiously optimistic these medications could help reduce some cancers.
“I foresee that this class of drugs will revolutionize obesity and the cancer burden that comes with it if people can get access. This really is an exciting development,” says Neil Iyengar, MD, a breast cancer oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in a web article from Memorial Sloan Kettering.
In a study published in JAMA Network Open, research including data from 1.6 million individuals shows some of these diabetes drugs could lower the risk of 10 of the 13 weight-related cancers.
The rates of breast, thyroid and stomach cancer were unchanged, Medical News Today reported.
However, it is still too early to know how these medications could help reduce cancer risks and what other benefits or risks they may have.
Again, if you are interested in knowing if you could benefit from these medications, talk to your doctor.
CyberKnife for Cancer
If you are diagnosed with one of the 13 obesity-related cancers and need radiation therapy, the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami, a premiere cancer treatment center in South Florida for non-invasive radiation therapy, are here to help you.
CyberKnife treats cancerous and non-cancerous tumors and other conditions where patients may need radiation using state-of-the-art technology called image guided linear accelerator to deliver precision stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).
CyberKnife can successfully treat cancers of the prostate, lungs, breast, liver, kidneys, pancreas, head and neck, lymph nodes and brain as well as other metastatic cancers — effectively killing the cancer and preventing it from returning.
CyberKnife Miami
CyberKnife Miami opened more than 20 years ago.
We were the 11th CyberKnife Center to open in the United States, and we are here to help you whether you come to us first, you are seeking a second opinion, or you are confused about the right treatment for you.
Our oncology and CyberKnife team is among one of the most experienced worldwide, and an experienced team can make a difference in your treatment outcome because we know what works best and what does not.
If you would like to talk to our cancer experts about what treatment would be best for your particular type of cancer, or you want to find out more about treatment with CyberKnife, call us at 305-279-2900. We’re happy to answer all your questions, and we pick up the phone. If we cannot we get back to you as soon as we can.
You can also go to our website now for more information www.cyberknifemiami.com.