Unintended Weight Loss A Sign Of Some Forms Of Cancer, Says Study

Sudden and unintended weight loss may mostly bad for health and an indicator of some chronic disease. A new study has indicated that it might even be a sign of some forms of cancer! The study, which is the first robust research conducted on association between sudden weight loss and cancer, says that it is the second highest risk factor for certain cancers including cancers of colon, pancreas, lung and rectum. The study was published in the British Journal of General Practice.

A team of researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Exeter conducted this study, which is the first systematic review and meta-analysis of some 25 studies on the evidence of the association between cancer and weight loss. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research. The 25 studies had the data from some 11.5 million patients and had zeroed in on 10 forms of cancer, which were linked with weight loss. In people over 60, unintended weight loss exceeded the three per cent threshold for urgent investigation, as is stated by the NICE guidelines.

For females over 60, the risk threshold was calculated as upto 6.7%, while in males over 60, it was 14.2%. A report on the meta-analysis in the journal said, "Positive associations between weight loss and cancer were found for 10 cancer sites: prostate, colorectal, lung, gastro-oesophageal, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, ovarian, myeloma, renal tract, and biliary tree." The study may help primary care physicians in catching cancer in the earlier stages.

"There are no international or national clinical guidelines to support primary care physicians in how to respond to or investigate patients who present with weight loss, although several clinical reviews have suggested different approaches, most commonly in older populations", said the study report. "People who have lost more weight are more likely to have cancer than those who have lost less,8 but almost all evidence on this comes from specialist care.1 Furthermore, weight loss has been previously considered as a feature of advanced cancer only, although reports about weight loss and stage at diagnosis give conflicting results", it added.