By Jimmy Downs

Sunday Oct 28, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Obesity can be a risk factor for chronic myelogenous leukemia, according to S. S. Strom at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX  and colleagues who reported a study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Prevention, which associates obesity with the disease.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myeloid leumeia, has few known risk factors, according to the authors, although obesity has been identified as a potential risk factor for several solid cancers and some adult hematopoetic cancers.

This case-control study compared 253 cases of  chronic myelogenous leukemia and 270 controls to see if there is any association between obesity and the risk of the disease.  Both cases and controls had similar risk profiles including smoking status, alcohol consumption, and occupational solvent and ionizing radiation exposures.

However, patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia were significantly more likely to have occupational exposure to agricultural chemicals than controls, 11% versus 3%.  Also more cases were obese than controls. Patients were about 4 times, 5 times and 3 times as likely as controls to have obesity at age 25, 40 years of age, and diagnosis, respectively.

Among participants aged 45 or older, those who were diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia gained 0.78 kg body weight each year, compared to 0.44 kg  per year in controls during the period from 25 through 40 years of age.  Those who gained more than 1 kg per year during the period were 263 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the disease.

The researchers concluded "obesity and adulthood weight gain play important roles in CML risk. Several plausible biological mechanisms have been proposed and warrant further investigation."