Obese at greater risk of multiple myeloma

BOSTON, July 20 (UPI) -- An obese person is more likely than a lean person to develop multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow, found Boston researchers.

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health say the findings indicate that body mass index provides an indicator for one's risk of developing multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells that produce antibodies.

"I find the results of these studies encouraging, since they show consistent results about the first risk factor for multiple myeloma that people can actually modify," lead author Brenda M. Birmann of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School said in a statement.

"Treatment options for this disease are improving, but it is also important to identify risk factors that could be modified. We would like to learn how to prevent its occurrence."

The association between BMI and multiple myeloma was strongest among men with a BMI of 30 or more; when compared with leaner men -- BMI below 22 -- obese men were twice as likely to develop multiple myeloma, according to the study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Multiple myeloma currently affects more than 50,000 people in the United States, and the five-year survival rates of the cancer are below 40 percent.