March 18, 2005
CHAPEL HILL — Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill report that in a study of people with esophageal and stomach cancer, patients who were overweight and those with moderate or high incomes had a lower risk of death, while women survived longer than men.The study included more than 1,100 patients with four subtypes of esophageal and stomach cancer. The patients were followed for seven years after diagnosis.

The findings are published in the March issue of the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. First author of the study is Katrina F. Trivers, a doctoral student in cancer epidemiology in UNC’s School of Public Health.

“The finding that overweight patients with certain types of esophageal and stomach cancer survived longer than those at or below their ideal weight was unexpected, given that among patients with other types of cancers, overweight patients usually experience shorter survival,” Trivers said.

However, she added, few studies have examined weight status and survival in esophageal and stomach cancer, and further research is needed.

“In previous studies, we have already identified specific risk factors for developing these cancers, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, high body mass index, diet, reflux disease and limited or no use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but predictors of survival are not well-characterized,” said Dr. Marilie Gammon, one of the study’s authors.

Gammon is a professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“We looked at whether the pre-diagnostic demographic, lifestyle and body mass risk factors have prognostic significance for these tumor types,” she added.

Presently, prognosis for these cancers is poor, with five-year relative survival rates of 15 percent for esophageal cancer and 20 percent for stomach cancers, as reported by the American Cancer Society. Worldwide, stomach cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death, as reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

The study’s third UNC author was Dr. Andrew Olshan, professor of epidemiology and leader of the UNC Lineberger cancer epidemiology program.

Other participating institutions were the National Cancer Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Yale University, New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York University School of Medicine.

Funding was provided by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, both of which are components of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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UNC Lineberger contact: Dianne Shaw, (919) 966-5905 or dgs@med.unc.edu

News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu

For further information please contact Emily Smith either by phone at 919.966.8498 or by email at emily_smith@unc.edu

 

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