According to a study conducted by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, unintended weight reduction raises the likelihood of receiving a cancer diagnosis during the next year.
Lead investigator Brian Wolpin, MD, MPH, Director of the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber and Director of the Hale Family Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, said, “If you are losing weight and you aren’t trying to lose weight by making changes in your exercise routine or diet, people should see their doctor to consider possible causes.”
He added, “There are many conditions that can result in unexpected weight loss. Your doctor can determine if there is something that needs evaluation.”
“Unexpected weight loss can come from cancer or many other conditions,” said Wolpin. “Sometimes weight loss is due to more exercise or a healthier diet, and this can be beneficial to people's health. However, when a patient experiences unintentional weight loss not due to healthier behaviours, seeing your primary care doctor is appropriate, so they can determine whether an additional evaluation is necessary for other causes of weight loss, including cancer.”
"We wanted to differentiate healthy weight loss from unhealthy weight loss," said Qiaoli Wang, MD, PhD, a research fellow at Dana-Farber and the manuscript's first author. “Healthy weight loss can come from dietary changes or increased exercise. But unhealthy weight loss that occurs unexpectedly can be due to an underlying cancer.”
