Obesity Linked to Higher Risk for Aggressive Thyroid Cancer

The other double chin.

Patients who are obese tend to present with more aggressive forms of papillary thyroid cancer. In addition, the cancer is often diagnosed at a more advanced stage in this population, according to a retrospective review.

The study, published online May 21 in the Archives of Surgery, found that obese and morbidly obese patients presented more frequently with stage III or IV disease (P = .04).

A subgroup analysis showed that the percentage of the more aggressive tall cell variant of papillary thyroid cancer was significantly higher in obese and morbidly obese patients than in those who were of normal weight or merely overweight (P = .03). A higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with a longer duration of anesthesia induction (P < .001) and a longer stay in the hospital (P < .001). The findings from this study are very interesting, explained lead author Avital Harari, MD, assistant professor of surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. "I believe the reason for the increase in late-stage and more aggressive thyroid cancer in obese individuals is 2-fold," she told Medscape Medical News. "One reason is that obese patients typically have a delay in diagnosis in relation to most illnesses. In the case of thyroid cancer, it's likely that their cancers and nodules are not felt on physical exam because of larger neck sizes." It is also likely that the state of obesity itself, physiologically, contributes to an increase in aggressive cancers, Dr. Harari added.

Oink.