Obesity and a particularly dangerous form of kidney cancer have been linked, according to scientists.
A form of cancer known as “clear-cell renal cell cancer” is one of the most deadly kidney diseases. And American researchers have found a strong association between obesity and developing this illness.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York examined more than 1,500 patients who had kidney tumors. Eighty-eight percent of them were suffering from malignant cases, and 61 percent of these malignancies were classified as “clear-cell.” Also, many of the deadly cases were found among males. But when the researchers also considered the patient’s weight and body mass index, they found that the obese kidney tumor patients had a 48 percent greater chance of developing the lethal “clear-cell” cancer. Also, they were able to verify that this lethal cancer risk increased 4 percent for every extra body mass index point they measured among the patients.
This relates to a story we recently reported about the American Institute for Cancer Research and some of the findings. One of the institute’s studies linked excess body fat to nearly 14,000 cases of kidney cancer, with more to come. Many may wonder why. The research at the time suggested that obesity can raise insulin levels, which can prompt the growth of cancer cells.
