Weight loss is a common concern in primary care, and its association with subsequent cancer risk remains an area of exploration. A recent prospective cohort analysis delved into this topic, focusing on health professionals aged 40 years or older from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. This study was published in the journal of JAMA Network by Qiao-Li Wang and colleagues.

The study encompassed a substantial cohort of 157,474 participants, with a median age of 62 years and a majority of 71.1% being female. Over the course of 1.64 million person-years, researchers diligently followed up with the participants, allowing for a comprehensive analysis of their health outcomes. Throughout this extensive follow-up period, the study identified a total of 15,809 incident cancer cases, providing a robust dataset for investigating the potential association between recent weight loss and subsequent cancer risk.
The key findings of the study were:
Weight Loss and Cancer Risk:
Individuals with recent weight loss (>10.0% of body weight) had significantly higher cancer rates (1362 cases/100,000 person-years) compared to those without recent weight loss (869 cases/100,000 person-years).
Among participants with low intentionality for weight loss, cancer rates were even more pronounced: 2687 cases/100,000 person-years with weight loss vs. 1220 cases/100,000 person-years without weight loss.
Specific Cancer Risks:
Cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract was notably common in individuals with recent weight loss.
For those with >10.0% body weight loss, 173 cases/100,000 person-years were reported, compared to 36 cases/100,000 person-years for those without recent weight loss.
Health professionals experiencing weight loss in the prior 2 years faced a significantly elevated risk of cancer in the subsequent 12 months compared to their counterparts without recent weight loss. The association was particularly strong for cancer of the upper gastrointestinal tract. These findings emphasize the importance of monitoring individuals with recent weight loss for potential underlying health concerns, including cancer.
Reference:
Wang, Q.-L., Babic, A., Rosenthal, M. H., Lee, A. A., Zhang, Y., Zhang, X., Song, M., Rezende, L. F. M., Lee, D. H., Biller, L., Ng, K., Giannakis, M., Chan, A. T., Meyerhardt, J. A., Fuchs, C. S., Eliassen, A. H., Birmann, B. M., Stampfer, M. J., Giovannucci, E. L., … Wolpin, B. M. Cancer diagnoses after recent weight loss. JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association,2024;331(4):318. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.25869