TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring the impact of body mass index on tumor biology and cancer development
AU - Ahrenfeldt, Johanne
AU - Carstensen, Stine
AU - Eriksen, Ida Maria Hemdorff
AU - Birkbak, Nicolai Juul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/7
Y1 - 2024/7
N2 - Purpose: Cancer continues to be a major global health challenge, affecting millions of individuals and placing substantial burdens on healthcare systems worldwide. Recent research suggests a complex relationship between obesity and cancer, with obesity increasing the risk of various cancers while potentially improving outcomes for diagnosed patients, a phenomenon termed the "obesity paradox". In this study, we used a cohort of 1781 patients to investigate the impact of obesity on tumor characteristics, including gene expression, pathway dysfunction, genetic alterations and immune infiltration. Methods: Patient samples spanned 10 different cancer types, and were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas, with annotations for body mass index (BMI), age, sex, tumor size and tumor gene expression data. Results: When we compared the proportion of large (T3–T4) to small tumors (T1–T2) between obese and non-obese patients, we found that obese patients tended to present with smaller, less invasive tumors and exhibited distinct gene expression profiles, particularly in metabolic and proliferative pathways. Moreover, smaller tumors in obese patients show higher immune cell infiltration and increased T cell diversity, suggesting enhanced immune activity. Conclusion: Taken together, these findings highlight the influence of obesity on tumor biology, with implications for personalized treatment strategies that consider patient physiology alongside tumor characteristics.
AB - Purpose: Cancer continues to be a major global health challenge, affecting millions of individuals and placing substantial burdens on healthcare systems worldwide. Recent research suggests a complex relationship between obesity and cancer, with obesity increasing the risk of various cancers while potentially improving outcomes for diagnosed patients, a phenomenon termed the "obesity paradox". In this study, we used a cohort of 1781 patients to investigate the impact of obesity on tumor characteristics, including gene expression, pathway dysfunction, genetic alterations and immune infiltration. Methods: Patient samples spanned 10 different cancer types, and were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas, with annotations for body mass index (BMI), age, sex, tumor size and tumor gene expression data. Results: When we compared the proportion of large (T3–T4) to small tumors (T1–T2) between obese and non-obese patients, we found that obese patients tended to present with smaller, less invasive tumors and exhibited distinct gene expression profiles, particularly in metabolic and proliferative pathways. Moreover, smaller tumors in obese patients show higher immune cell infiltration and increased T cell diversity, suggesting enhanced immune activity. Conclusion: Taken together, these findings highlight the influence of obesity on tumor biology, with implications for personalized treatment strategies that consider patient physiology alongside tumor characteristics.
KW - Cancer and obesity
KW - Pathway analysis
KW - Transcriptomics
KW - Tumor aggresiveness
KW - Tumor biology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85199936436&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00432-024-05890-4
DO - 10.1007/s00432-024-05890-4
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 39068253
AN - SCOPUS:85199936436
SN - 0171-5216
VL - 150
JO - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology
IS - 7
M1 - 372
ER -