Excess weight among colorectal cancer survivors: target for intervention

Psychological distress and lower health-related quality of life are associated with need for dietary support among colorectal cancer survivors with overweight or obesity

OBJECTIVE

Two-third of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors are overweight or obese. Psychological distress and low health-related quality of life (HRQoL) may be barriers to improving diet. We aimed to assess associations between psychological distress and HRQoL and the need for dietary support in CRC survivors with overweight or obesity.

METHODS

All alive individuals diagnosed with CRC between 2000 and 2009, as registered by the Dutch population-based Eindhoven Cancer Registry, were eligible for participation and received a questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess associations between HRQoL (EORTC QLQ-C30), symptoms of anxiety and depression (HADS), and self-reported need for dietary support (single-item).

RESULTS

A total of 1458 completed the questionnaire (response rate 82%), and 756 (43%) had a BMI of 25.0 or higher and complete data on "need for dietary support" and were included for analyses. BMI ranged between 25.0 and 60.6 (mean, 28.9; SD, 3.6). The majority (71.7%) was overweight (BMI ≥ 25), and 28.3% obese (BMI ≥ 30). Twenty-one percent reported a need for dietary support which was associated with more psychological distress and lower HRQoL. Those who experienced symptoms of anxiety or depression were more likely to report a need for dietary support (27.6% and 28.7%) than those who did not experience symptoms of anxiety (12.3%; OR 2.02; 95% CI 1.22-3.35) or depression (13.5%; OR 1.96; 95% CI 1.19-3.22).

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that psychological distress and lower HRQoL should be taken into account while promoting a healthy diet in overweight or obese CRC survivors since these factors may hinder adherence to a healthy diet.

An exploration of needs and preferences for dietary support in colorectal cancer survivors: A mixed-methods study

PURPOSE

To describe the proportion of colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors who perceive a need for dietary support; to examine which socio-demographic, cancer-related, and health-related characteristics are associated with this need; to explore reasons for (not) needing support; and to explore CRC survivors' specific needs and preferences with regard to lifestyle (i.e., dietary, exercise, and/or weight management) support.

METHODS

This mixed-methods study comprised a cross-sectional survey among 1774 Dutch CRC survivors and three focus groups (n = 16). To examine associations, logistic regression analyses were conducted. Focus groups were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a thematic approach.

RESULTS

Of 1458 respondents (82%), 1198 (67.5%) were included for analyses. 17.5% reported a need for dietary support. Characteristics associated with this need were: being younger, living without a partner, having a stoma, having diabetes, and being overweight or obese. The main reason for needing support was being unable to initiate and maintain lifestyle changes without support. CRC survivors preferred receiving information soon after diagnosis to make an autonomous, informed decision on improving their lifestyle. They preferred to receive individually-tailored lifestyle support in an autonomy-supportive environment, preferably with involvement of their family and fellow-sufferers.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has provided knowledge on appropriate support for CRC survivors in need for dietary support to improve health outcomes by promoting adherence to lifestyle and body weight recommendations. Findings can be used to better identify CRC survivors in need for dietary support, and to tailor lifestyle support to their needs and preferences in order to promote uptake, adherence, and effectiveness.

Obesity and cancer: An update of the global impact

In view of the growing global obesity epidemic, this paper reviews the relation between recent trends in body mass index (BMI) and the changing profile of cancer worldwide. By examining seven selected countries, each representing a world region, a pattern of increasing BMI with region and gender-specific diversity is noted: increasing levels of BMI were most pronounced in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia), rather modest in Eastern Asia (India) and generally more rapid in females than in males. This observation translates into a disproportionate distribution of cancer attributable to high levels of BMI, ranging by sex from 4-9% in Saudi Arabia and from 0.2-1.2% in India. Overweight and obesity may also influence cancer outcomes, and hence have a varying impact on cancer survival and death in different world regions. Future challenges in cancer studies exploring the association with overweight and obesity concern the measurement of adiposity and its potentially cumulative effect over the life course. Given the limitations of BMI as an imperfect measure of body fatness, routine anthropometric data collection needs to be extended to develop more informative measures, such as waist circumference in settings where the gold standard tools remain unaffordable. Furthermore, questions surrounding the dose-response and timing of obesity and their associations with cancer remain to be answered. Improved surveillance of health risk factors including obesity as well as the scale and profile of cancer in every country of the world is urgently needed. This will enable the design of cost-effective actions to curb the growing burden of cancer related to excess body weight.

Dietary changes and dietary supplement use, and underlying motives for these habits reported by colorectal cancer survivors of the Patient Reported Outcomes Following Initial Treatment and Long-Term Evaluation of Survivorship (PROFILES) registry

In the present study, we aimed to describe dietary changes made post-diagnosis and current dietary supplement use by survivors of colorectal cancer (CRC), and explore the underlying motives for these lifestyle habits. Cross-sectional analyses were performed for 1458 stage I-IV CRC survivors of the Patient Reported Outcomes Following Initial Treatment and Long-Term Evaluation of Survivorship (PROFILES) registry, diagnosed between 2000 and 2009. Lifestyle, sociodemographic and clinical information was collected. Prevalence of and motivations for dietary changes and supplement use were assessed. Associations between lifestyle, sociodemographic and clinical variables were analysed by multivariable logistic regression. CRC survivors (57% male) were on average 70 (SD 9) years of age and diagnosed 7 (SD 3) years ago. Dietary changes post-diagnosis were reported by 36% of the survivors and current supplement use by 32%. Motivations for dietary changes were mostly cancer-related (44% reported 'prevention of cancer recurrence' as the main reason), while motivations for supplement use were less frequently related to the cancer experience (38% reported 'to improve health and prevent disease in general' as the main reason). Dietary changes were significantly associated with dietary supplement use (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 2.1). Survivors who had received dietary advice, were non-smokers, under 65 years of age, and had no stoma were more likely to have changed their diet. Survivors who were female, had multiple co-morbidities, and no overweight or obesity were more likely to use supplements. In conclusion, many CRC survivors alter their diet post-diagnosis and use dietary supplements, in part for different reasons. Insights into motivations behind these lifestyle habits and characteristics of CRC survivors adopting these habits can improve the tailoring of lifestyle counselling strategies.

SMO expression in colorectal cancer: associations with clinical, pathological, and molecular features

BACKGROUND

Smoothened, frizzled family receptor (SMO) is an important component of the hedgehog signaling pathway, which has been implicated in various human carcinomas. However, clinical, molecular, and prognostic associations of SMO expression in colorectal cancer remain unclear.

METHODS

Using a database of 735 colon and rectal cancers in the Nurse's Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, we examined the relationship of tumor SMO expression (assessed by immunohistochemistry) to prognosis, and to clinical, pathological, and tumor molecular features, including mutations of KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA, microsatellite instability, CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), LINE-1 methylation, and expression of phosphorylated AKT and CTNNB1.

RESULTS

SMO expression was detected in 370 tumors (50 %). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, SMO expression was independently inversely associated with phosphorylated AKT expression [odds ratio (OR) 0.48; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.34-0.67] and CTNNB1 nuclear localization (OR 0.48; 95 % CI 0.35-0.67). SMO expression was not significantly associated with colorectal cancer-specific or overall survival. However, in CIMP-high tumors, but not CIMP-low/0 tumors, SMO expression was significantly associated with better colorectal cancer-specific survival (log-rank P = 0.012; multivariate hazard ratio, 0.36; 95 % CI 0.13-0.95; P interaction = 0.035, for SMO and CIMP status).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data reveal novel potential associations between the hedgehog, the WNT/CTNNB1, and the PI3K (phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphonate 3-kinase)/AKT pathways, supporting pivotal roles of SMO and hedgehog signaling in pathway networking. SMO expression in colorectal cancer may interact with tumor CIMP status to affect patient prognosis, although confirmation by future studies is needed.

Association of body mass index and smoking on outcome of Chinese patients with colorectal cancer

Background

The impact of body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer remains largely unknown, particularly in Asian populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the influence of BMI on clinicopathological characteristics and mortality of Chinese colorectal cancer patients.

Methods

The study cohort consisted of 525 patients who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and underwent radical surgery at the second hospital of Harbin Medical University between June 2004 and August 2011. Study participants were divided into two BMI categories: normal weight (BMI <23 kg/m²) and overweight (BMI ≥23 kg/m²).

Results

Of 525 patients, 208 patients (39.6%) were included in the normal-weight group and 317 patients were included in the overweight group. During the mean follow-up period of 48.8 months, 89 patients had disease recurrence and 131 deaths occurred. High BMI was significantly correlated with younger age, presence of diabetes, alcohol consumption, distal colon tumors, amount of lymph node harvested and pathological stage. No statistically significant correlation was found between high BMI and progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) when the total group of patients was considered (P = 0.077 and P = 0.701, respectively). Cigarette-smoking patients had significantly shorter OS than patients who had never smoked (hazard ratio = 1.613, 95% confidence interval = 1.133 to 2.296; P = 0.008), and this difference in OS remained significant in multivariate analysis. Cigarette-smoking patients did not have significantly different PFS compared with patients who had never smoked.

Conclusion

There was no significant correlation between obesity and outcomes of patients with colorectal cancer. In addition, our findings support the claims that cigarette smoking may be partially responsible for the divergent mortality of patients with colorectal cancer.