Anthropometric factors and risk of myeloid leukaemias and myelodysplastic syndromes: a prospective study and meta-analysis

Abstract

There is insufficient evidence linking excess body weight to risk of myeloid malignancies. We investigated this association using data from the Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II), and a meta-analysis of published cohort studies. Among 152 090 CPS-II participants, 387 acute myeloid leukaemias (AML), 100 chronic myeloid leukaemias (CML) and 170 MDS were identified over 21 years of follow-up. In CPS-II, body mass index (BMI) was weakly associated with risk of CML (hazard ratio [HR] = 1·04, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0·99–1·09 per 1 unit increase in BMI), AML (HR = 1·01, 95% CI: 0·98–1·03) and MDS (HR = 1·03, 95% CI: 0·99–1·07). After controlling for other anthropometric factors, no clear association was observed for height, BMI at age 18 years or weight change. In the meta-analysis (n = 7117 myeloid leukaemias), BMI 25–29·9 kg/m2 (HRpooled = 1·36, 95% CI: 1·12–1·59) and BMI ≥30 kg/m2 (HRpooled = 1·43, 95% CI: 1·18–1·69) were associated with higher risk of myeloid leukaemia overall, compared to a BMI <25 kg/m2. Likewise, BMI ≥25 kg/m2 was positively associated with both AML and CML risk individually in the meta-analysis. These results underscore the need for large studies to detect associations with rare cancers, and show a modest, but positive association between excess body weight and myeloid malignancy risk.