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Anthropometric characteristics and risk of lymphoid and myeloid leukemia in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)

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Abstract

Purpose

Overweight and obesity have been suggested as a risk factor for leukemia. Impaired immune function associated with obesity, increased insulin-like growth factor-I activity and stimulating effects of leptin suggest a possible biological link between anthropometric measures and leukemia. However, evidence from epidemiological studies has been inconsistent. We examined the potential association between prospective measurements of body size and risk of leukemia among participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).

Methods

During follow-up (mean = 11.52 years, standard deviation = 2.63), 671 leukemia (lymphoid leukemia = 50.1 %, myeloid leukemia = 43.2 %) cases were identified. Anthropometric measures including weight, height, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were measured. Cox proportional hazard models were used to explore the association between anthropometric measures and risk of leukemia.

Results

No associations were observed between anthropometric measures and total leukemia, and lymphoid leukemia. Risk of myeloid leukemia significantly increased for higher categories of BMI and WC among women. Analyses by subtype of myeloid leukemia showed an increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for higher categories of WHR among women. This association seemed to be reversed for chronic myeloid leukemia. No association between anthropometric measures and myeloid leukemia were observed among men except an increased risk of AML with height.

Conclusion

The study showed no associations between anthropometric measures and total leukemia, and lymphoid leukemia among men and women. A possible association between BMI as general obesity and WC as abdominal obesity and increased risk of myeloid leukemia among women were observed.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the “Europe Against Cancer Programme” of the European Commission (SANCO); French League against Cancer (LNCC); National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), France; Mutuelle Ge′ne′rale de l’Education Nationale (MGEN), France; 3 M Co, France; Gustave Roussy Institute (IGR), France; and General Councils of France; German Cancer Aid; German Cancer Research Centre; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; Danish Cancer Society; Health Research Fund (FIS) of the Spanish Ministry of Health (Exp P10710130), Regional Governments of Andalucía, Asturias, Basque Country, Murcia (no. 6236), Navarra, and the Catalan Institute of Oncology, La Caixa (BM 06-130), RTICC-RD06/0020 (Spain); Cancer Research UK; Medical Research Council, UK; Stroke Association, UK; British Heart Foundation; Department of Health, UK; Food Standards Agency, UK; Wellcome Trust, UK; Greek Ministry of Health; Greek Ministry of Education; the Hellenic Health Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Greece; Italian Association for Research on Cancer; Italian National Research Council; Fondazione-Istituto Banco Napoli, Italy; Compagnia di San Paolo; Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports; Dutch Prevention Funds; LK Research Funds; Dutch ZON (Zorg Onderzoek Nederland); World Cancer Research Fund; Swedish Cancer Society; Swedish Scientific Council; Regional Government of Skane, Sweden.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division Environmental Epidemiology, Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht University, Jenalaan 18D, PO Box 80178, 3508 TD, Utrecht, Netherlands

    Fatemeh Saberi Hosnijeh & Roel Vermeulen

  2. Zanjan University of Medical Science, Zanjan, Iran

    Fatemeh Saberi Hosnijeh

  3. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO), Lyon, France

    Isabelle Romieu

  4. Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK

    Valentina Gallo, Elio Riboli & Paolo Vineis

  5. Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Anne Tjønneland & Jytte Halkjær

  6. Inserm, U1018, Gustave Roussy Institute, Villejuif, France

    Guy Fagherazzi, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon & Laure Dossus

  7. Paris South University, UMRS 1018, Villejuif, France

    Guy Fagherazzi, Françoise Clavel-Chapelon & Laure Dossus

  8. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany

    Annie Lukanova & Rudolf Kaaks

  9. Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, WHO Collaborating Center for Food and Nutrition Policies, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece

    Antonia Trichopoulou & Pagona Lagiou

  10. Hellenic Health Foundation, Athens, Greece

    Antonia Trichopoulou & Michael Katsoulis

  11. Bureau of Epidemiologic Research, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Pagona Lagiou

  12. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine Federico II University, Naples, Italy

    Salvatore Panico

  13. Environmental Epidemiology and Cancer Registry Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy

    Giovanna Tagliabue

  14. Unit of Nutrition, Environment and Cancer, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Barcelona, Spain

    Catalina Bonet

  15. Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Basque Regional Health Department and Biodonostia/Ciberesp, San Sebastián, Spain

    Miren Dorronsoro

  16. Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Authority, Murcia, Spain

    José María Huerta

  17. CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Pamplona, Spain

    José María Huerta, Eva Ardanaz & Maria-José Sánchez

  18. Navarre Public Health Institute, Pamplona, Spain

    Eva Ardanaz

  19. Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain

    Maria-José Sánchez

  20. Department of Surgery, Malmö University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    Dorthe Johansen

  21. Clinical Sciences, Department of Oncology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Signe Borgquist

  22. Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands

    Petra Peeters & Roel Vermeulen

  23. National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    H. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita & Martine M. Ros

  24. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Medical Centre, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    H. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita

  25. Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and HTA, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Martine M. Ros

  26. Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Ruth C. Travis & Timothy J. Key

Authors
  1. Fatemeh Saberi Hosnijeh
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  2. Isabelle Romieu
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  3. Valentina Gallo
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  27. Ruth C. Travis
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  28. Timothy J. Key
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  29. Paolo Vineis
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  30. Roel Vermeulen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Roel Vermeulen.

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Paolo Vineis and Roel Vermeulen: Co-last authors.

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Saberi Hosnijeh, F., Romieu, I., Gallo, V. et al. Anthropometric characteristics and risk of lymphoid and myeloid leukemia in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Cancer Causes Control 24, 427–438 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-012-0128-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-012-0128-2

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