Recent research suggests that obesity and excess weight can play a prominent role in the incidence and progression of various cancers. Obesity results from an energy imbalance - that is, energy intake that is higher than energy expenditure - could also influence the growth of cancers. Recognizing the impact that current findings on obesity and cancer could have on future cancer prevention and care, the National Cancer policy Forum (NCPF) of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) help a 2-day workshop on "The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence," in Washington, DC, on October 31 and November 1, 2011.

The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence: Workshop Summary reviews each presenter's latest clinical evidence on the obesity-cancer link and the molecular mechanisms that might explain that link. Clinicians, researchers, cancer survivors, and policy makers also discussed potential interventions to counter the effects of obesity on cancer, and research and policy measures needed to stem the rising tide of cancer mortality predicted by an increasingly overweight and older population worldwide.

The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence: Workshop Summary explores the complex web of molecular mechanisms that underlie the obesity-cancer link, the ways to design future studies to acquire the information needed to guide patient care, what to advise cancer patients about weight loss, diet, exercise, and other measures to reduce their risk of cancer progression or recurrence and policy suggestions related to research, education, and dissemination of the findings on obesity and cancer.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE
• NATIONAL CANCER POLICY FORUM
• Reviewers
• Workshop Summary
  • INTRODUCTION
  • OVERVIEW OF THE OBESITY–CANCER LINK
  • MOLECULAR MECHANISMS
  • CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF THE OBESITY LINK TO CANCER
  • CLINICAL STUDY DESIGN ISSUES
  • POTENTIAL TREATMENTS TO COUNTER EFFECTS OF OBESITY
  • CHALLENGES IN STUDYING OR INDUCING LIFESTYLE CHANGES IN PATIENTS
  • WHAT TO ADVISE CANCER PATIENTS
  • POLICY SUGGESTIONS
  • WRAPPING UP
  • REFERENCES
• Appendix A Acronyms
• Appendix B Workshop Agenda
• Appendix C Speaker Biographies

Rapporteurs: Margie Patlak and Sharyl J. Nass.

This study was supported by Contract Nos. HHSN261200900003C and 200-2005-13434 TO #1 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, respectively. In addition, the National Cancer Policy Forum is also supported by the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, Bristol-Myers Squibb, C-Change, the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, Novartis Oncology, and the Oncology Nursing Society. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2012. The role of obesity in cancer survival and recurrence: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.