There is a strong correlation between enlarged organ size related to obesity and an increased risk of developing cancer, according to a study published March 24 in Cancer Research.
Researchers from Duarte, Calif.-based City of Hope and Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute, known as TGen, analyzed the connection between body size, organ size and cellular growth. TGen is a nonprofit research organization and part of City of Hope.
Here are five things to know from the study:
- A “strong positive correlation” was found between BMI and organ size after measuring liver, pancreas and kidney volumes of 747 adults with a range of BMIs.
A five-unit increase in BMI was “significantly associated” with a 12% volume increase in the liver, a 9% volume increase in both kidneys and a 7% volume in the pancreas. - Researchers found that a doubling in organ volume, relative to volume of normal-weight adults, corresponded to a doubling in cancer risk.
- Kidney cells from autopsy samples and biopsy data were analyzed to determine the cellular basis of organ enlargement.
About 61% of kidney enlargement was due to hyperplasia and 39% was due to hypertrophy.
These findings “correct earlier theories that larger organ size in obese individuals resulted primarily from fatter cells,” City of Hope said in a March 24 news release. “Rather, obesity mainly increases the number of cells at risk for copying errors, uncontrollable growth and potential malignancy.” - “The more cells in an organ, the more mutations and the greater the risk of one cell going awry during division and becoming cancerous,” Cristian Tomasetti, PhD, senior author of the study and director of City of Hope’s Center for Cancer Prevention, Early Detection and Monitoring, said in the release.
- Researchers will continue to study if weight loss — including weight loss brought on through GLP-1s — can reduce organ size and cancer risk, the release said.
Read the full study here.
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