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The Two Major Epidemics of the Twenty-First Century: Obesity and Cancer

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Abstract

It is a well-known fact that severe obesity is associated with the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and other diseases. Epidemiological studies have suggested that obesity is also associated with increased risk of several cancer types. The number of people who are suffering from severe obesity is growing, and clinical data suggest that severely obese patients belong to a unique population with regards to risk, efficacy of screening, and cancer treatment. This review will point out the potential mechanism linking obesity and cancer and will discuss several challenges in various treatment modalities of cancer in obese patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Oncology, Rambam Health Care Campus and Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

    Orit Kaidar-Person & Gil Bar-Sela

  2. Department of General Surgery, Rambam Health Care Campus and Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion—Israel Institute of Technology, P.O.B. 9602, Haifa, 31096, Israel

    Benjamin Person

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  1. Orit Kaidar-Person
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  2. Gil Bar-Sela
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  3. Benjamin Person
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Correspondence to Benjamin Person.

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This study is dedicated in memory of Colonel Alex Haicov.

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Kaidar-Person, O., Bar-Sela, G. & Person, B. The Two Major Epidemics of the Twenty-First Century: Obesity and Cancer. OBES SURG 21, 1792–1797 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-011-0490-2

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