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Obesity and the risk of cholangiocarcinoma: a meta-analysis

  • Research Article
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Tumor Biology

Abstract

A number of studies have shown that obesity is implicated in the susceptibility to several cancers. However, the association between obesity and cholangiocarcinoma remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively assess the association between overweight or obesity and the incidence of cholangiocarcinoma. A literature search was performed for cohort and case-control studies published from 1996 to 2013 using PubMed, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases. Studies were included if they reported odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of cholangiocarcinoma with respect to obesity or overweight. Normal weight, overweight, and obesity were defined when the body mass index (BMI) was 18.5–24.9, 25–29.9, and ≥30 kg/m2, respectively. Excess body weight was defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria, which included five cohort and five case-control studies. Compared with normal weight, being overweight (pooled OR 1.30, 95 % CI 1.13–1.49), obesity (pooled OR 1.52, 95 % CI 1.13–1.89), and excess body weight (pooled OR 1.37, 95 %CI 1.22–1.55) were significantly associated with cholangiocarcinoma. The funnel plot revealed no evidence for publication bias. Obesity is associated with the increased risk of cholangiocarcinoma, which needs to be confirmed by long-term cohort studies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Medjaden Bioscience Limited for assisting in the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, 324 Jing 5 Road, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China

    Jun-Shan Li, Nie Jing, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Feng-Zhen Ma & Ji-Yong Liu

  2. Department of Hematology, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, 250021, Shandong, China

    Tian-Jie Han

  3. Department of Gastroenterology, Tai’an Central Hospital, Tai’an, 271000, Shandong, China

    Lei Li

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  1. Jun-Shan Li
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  2. Tian-Jie Han
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  3. Nie Jing
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  4. Lei Li
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ji-Yong Liu.

Additional information

Jun-Shan Li and Tian-Jie Han contributed equally to this work.

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Li, JS., Han, TJ., Jing, N. et al. Obesity and the risk of cholangiocarcinoma: a meta-analysis. Tumor Biol. 35, 6831–6838 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1939-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-014-1939-4

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