Higher Body Mass Index may help in Cancer Survival: StudyDiet & Fitness

December 28, 2019 10:31
Higher Body Mass Index may help in Cancer Survival: Study

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Here comes a good news for the obese and over weight people as  researchers have found that higher body mass index (BMI) could increase the chance of beating certain cancers.

According to the researches that were done in the Flinders University, the individuals with high body mass index were found to be more responsive to the drugs like atezolizumab in the treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Atezolizumab is a common immunotherapy treatment for non-small-cell lung cancer.

Ganessan Kichenadasse a study lead investigator from the Flinders University in Australia said that the outcome received is interesting which raised the potential to further investigations with other cancers and other anti-cancer drugs.

He said that, further studies has to be done to find out the possible link between BMI and related inflammation which might further help in understanding the mechanisms behind paradoxical response to this form of cancer treatment.

According to the estimations done by WHO at least 2.8 million people die each year and the cause being overweight or obese. Over weight and obesity will lead to adverse effects on metabolism which inturn affects the blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin resistance.

"Previous studies have explored a concept called as 'obesity paradox' where obesity is associated with increased risks for developing certain cancers and, counter-intuitively, may protect and give greater survival benefits in certain individuals," said Kichenadasse.

"Our study provides new evidence to support the hypothesis that high BMI and obesity may be associated with response to immunotherapy," he added.

For the findings that has been published in the JAMA Oncology journal, the participants who took part in the study included individuals with 49 per cent normal weight, 34 per cent over weight and seven per cent others being obese which sums up to 1,434 participants.

During the research, it was found that the mortality rate has been reduced with atezolizumab in the NSCLC patients with high BMI (BMI 25 kg/m2) in the four clinical trials which results in getting benefited from immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy.

The study further said that the treatment for this form of lung cancer has been evolving which includes ICIs, molecular targeted drugs and chemotherapies.

"While our study only looked at baseline and during treatment, we believe it warrants more studies into the potentially protective role of high BMI in other cancer treatments," Kichenadasse said.

By Shrithika Kushangi

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cancer  over weight  obese