Cancer treatment could soon be combined with obesity treatment.
This is the main conclusion from new research by the Mayo Clinic
Comprehensive Cancer Center into the five-year survival rates of patients with
oesophageal cancer.
Doctors observed that those who underwent surgery to remove the tumours had
a 36 per cent chance of surviving for at least five years.
However, those who had a body mass index of more than 30 only had an 18 per
cent chance of five-year survival, mainly due to a higher rate of cancer
reoccurrence.
Dr Harry Yoon, who led the study, said that this may alter the way medical
staff care for cancer patients in the future.
"I did not typically speak to my patients about excess body weight as
part of their care, because we are more often concerned about weight loss, but
that may change," he stated.
According to Cancer Research UK, rates of oesophageal cancer have increased
by 50 per cent in men over the past 25 years.
© Adfero Ltd
Cancer treatment news : 23 December 2011
