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Higher Risk of Leukemia Tied to Older Overweight womenType of Leukemia Risk Rises With Obesity

Posted on: Thursday, 30 December 2004, 18:00 CST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- New research has found a higher risk of leukemia among older overweight women, offering another piece of evidence that carrying extra pounds can increase your chance of getting cancer.

University of Minnesota researchers concluded that being overweight or obese could more than double an older woman's slight risk of getting acute myelogenous leukemia. AML, one of the deadliest leukemias, accounts for about one-third of the 33,000 leukemia cases diagnosed annually in the United States.

Earlier studies have linked excessive weight with higher risks for cancers of the colon, breast, uterus, kidney and some other organs. The new study adds one more cancer to the list, said lead author Julia A. Ross, an epidemiologist with the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

"It's just another indication of obesity not being a good thing,'' Ross said.

The study, published in the November issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found that the risk for AML was 90 percent higher among women 55 and older who are overweight, meaning they have a body-mass index of 25 to 29.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

The risk was as much as 140 percent higher among obese women in this age group -- those with a BMI of 30 or more.

By those definitions, a 5-foot-4 woman between 146 pounds and 174 pounds would be considered overweight. She would be considered obese if she weighed 175 pounds or more.

While the study found a higher risk of AML among overweight older women, it did not find such a link with a slower developing type of leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Researchers don't know yet if excessive weight directly causes AML, or how, but hormones or genetics might be factors, Ross said, adding that further study is needed.

Type of leukemia risk rises with obesity

A University of Minnesota study said being overweight or obese could more than double an older womans risk of getting acute myelogenous leukemia. AML - one of the deadliest forms of leukemia - accounts for one-third of leukemia cases diagnosed annually.

AML incidence rate for women by age at diagnosis 1997-2001

20 per 100,000 women

Percentage of U.S. women who are overweight or obese 1999-2000

Overweight

Obese

SOURCES: SEER Cancer Statistic Review, National Cancer Institute; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Source: Omaha World - Herald

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