Obesity Paradox in Cancer Patients with Pre-Existing Hyperglycemia and Diabetes

Presenter

Jacob W. DePass

Campus

UMass Boston

Sponsor

Richard Viskochil, Department of Exercise Science, UMass Boston

Schedule

Session 4, 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board C25, Poster Showcase Room (163), Row 3 (C21-C30) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Obesity consistently increases lifetime mortality risk in patients with hyperglycemia, however evidence suggests that being overweight protects against mortality after cancer diagnosis. The impact of obesity on survival in cancer patients with pre-existing hyperglycemia is not clear. PURPOSE: To determine if this obesity paradox (associations between higher BMI and increased lifespan) is present in cancer patients with previously diagnosed diabetes/hyperglycemia. METHODS: Data was abstracted from medical records collected from the University of Utah Hospital and the Huntsman Cancer Institute, fully de-identified, and filtered to identify cancer patients with 1) pre-existing hyperglycemia, 2) obesity at cancer diagnosis, and 3) death date after cancer diagnosis. 43 patients were identified, and Cox proportional hazards regression and ANOVAs were used to determine if there was an association between BMI and survivor years. RESULTS: Mean BMI was 31.5 kg/m² and the average age was 67. 54% were female and 86% were White/Caucasian. All patients had confirmed hyperglycemia, with 75% having frank diabetes. There was no significant correlation between BMI and survivor years (p=0.2). However, the p-value steadily decreased as more confounders were taken into account into a regression model.   CONCLUSION: There was no significant correlation between BMI and survivor years in cancer patients with hyperglycemia, potentially due to the small sample size. Future research into a larger sample of patients collected prospectively and matched with the group of cancer patients without hyperglycemia to determine if there are any differences in survivor years is warranted.

Keywords

Obesity paradox, Cancer , Hyperglycemia, BMI, Diabetes

Research Area

Public Health and Epidemiology

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