# Obesity-related cancers (IARC list of 13)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/obesity-related-cancers/  
OnCo record `obesity-related-cancers` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Excess body fat is an established cause of thirteen cancers on the IARC list, including womb, oesophagus, kidney, liver, bowel, pancreas and postmenopausal breast cancer. It accounts for roughly 4 to 8% of cancers in high-income countries, second only to smoking among preventable causes, and bariatric surgery cohorts suggest the risk is partly reversible.

## Summary

The IARC Handbook Working Group (2016) found sufficient evidence for cancers of the oesophagus (adenocarcinoma), gastric cardia, colon and rectum, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, postmenopausal breast, endometrium, ovary, kidney, meningioma, thyroid and multiple myeloma. Relative risks per 5 kg/m2 range from about 1.1 (breast) to 1.5-1.6 (endometrium, oesophageal adenocarcinoma). Mechanisms: insulin and IGF-1, sex hormones, adipokines and chronic inflammation. Population-attributable fractions are 4-8% of cancers in high-income countries and rising; bariatric surgery cohorts show the risk is at least partly reversible.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Also known as: Adiposity-related cancers; obesity-related cancer; Body fatness and cancer

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_and_cancer
- IARC Handbook: body fatness and cancer (NEJM 2016): https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsr1606602

## Connected records

- cancers: [Colorectal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/colorectal/), [Endometrial cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/endometrial/), [Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gastric/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Multiple myeloma](https://onco.cc/cancers/multiple-myeloma/), [Oesophageal cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/esophageal/), [Ovarian cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/ovarian/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/), [Renal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/rcc/), [Thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/thyroid/)
- technologies: [Bariatric surgery and cancer incidence](https://onco.cc/technologies/bariatric-surgery-cancer-incidence/), [Dietitian-led weight-loss programmes in HR-positive breast cancer](https://onco.cc/technologies/dietitian-led-weight-loss-breast/), [GLP-1 receptor agonists and obesity-related cancer risk](https://onco.cc/technologies/glp1-agonists-cancer-risk/), [Structured exercise programmes after curative treatment](https://onco.cc/technologies/structured-exercise-survivorship/), [Ultra-processed food and sugar-sweetened drinks](https://onco.cc/technologies/ultra-processed-food-ssb/)
- institutions: [International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC / WHO)](https://onco.cc/institutions/iarc/)
- terms: [Body composition (lean mass, fat mass, visceral fat)](https://onco.cc/terms/body-composition/), [Energy balance](https://onco.cc/terms/energy-balance/), [Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance](https://onco.cc/terms/metabolic-syndrome/), [Risk factor](https://onco.cc/terms/risk-factor/), [Ultra-processed food (NOVA group 4)](https://onco.cc/terms/ultra-processed-food/)
- bottlenecks: [Prevention we already have is not deployed](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-prevention-adoption/)
- key papers: [Calle 2003: overweight, obesity and death from cancer in 900,000 US adults](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-calle-obesity-cancer-mortality-nejm-2003/)
- trials: [BWEL (Breast Cancer Weight Loss, Alliance A011401)](https://onco.cc/trials/bwel/)
- ideas: [GLP-1 receptor agonists as adjuvant weight-loss therapy in HR-positive breast cancer](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-nl-glp1-adjuvant-hr-breast/), [Link bariatric and GLP-1 registries to cancer registries in every country that has both](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-nl-bariatric-cancer-registry-linkage/)
- pathways: [Lipid synthesis, uptake & cholesterol](https://onco.cc/pathways/lipid-metabolism-cancer/)
- roadmaps: [Cancer prevention roadmap: tobacco control and vaccines → biomarker-guided chemoprevention → interception in carriers](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/prevention-roadmap/), [Diet, exercise and lifestyle roadmap: causes established → interventions that disappointed → exercise proven as treatment](https://onco.cc/roadmaps/nutrition-lifestyle-roadmap/)

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