Abstract C079: The association between metabolic syndrome and five common types of cancer differs by gender and race/ethnicity: Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The higher cancer burden in racial/ethnic minority populations reflects a complex interplay between biological, behavioral, and cultural factors. Increasing evidence suggests that metabolic syndrome (MetS) may be an important etiologic factor to several common types of cancer. MetS is a disease entity characterized by a constellation of interconnected physiological, biochemical, clinical, and metabolic factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular atherosclerotic diseases and diabetes mellitus type 2. We used data from the 2011–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to define a case-control sample, which then helped us to examine the racial/ethnic disparities in the association of MetS and five common types of cancer (liver, breast, prostate, colorectal, and stomach), as well as overall cancer prevalence. We used chi-square tests and binary logistic regressions to examine the MetS and cancer association, by gender and cancer site separately for each racial/ethnic group (non-Hispanic white (NHW), non-Hispanic black, (NHB), Hispanics, and Asian). We then computed relative risks of the presence of MetS to any cancers and each of the five types of cancer. All analyses were conducted in Stata 14. From a total sample of 17,969 cases, we identified 15,463 no-cancer cases, and 1,584 cancer cases. Specifically, there are 12 liver cancer cases, 254 breast cancer cases, 254 prostate cancer cases, 16 stomach cancer cases, and 112 colorectal cancer cases. MetS was significantly associated with overall cancer prevalence among (NHW) men and women, and marginally associated among NHB women. Furthermore, NHB women with MetS had a higher rate of breast cancer than those without. Similar, yet less significant, findings were found in NHW women with respect to colorectal cancer. Finally, there was a significant risk of MetS presence for any type of cancer, overall and in NHW, NHB, and Hispanics. Overall, we found a nuanced association between MetS and cancer that varied by gender, race/ethnicity, and cancer type. Limitations in analyses were due to small sample sizes and low cancer counts in three minority groups. The next steps of our research are to (1) conduct analysis in larger samples; (2) explore the etiological and epidemiological mechanisms of MetS-cancer association; and 3) design and implement integrative behavioral interventions among high-risk groups. The findings contribute significantly to our understanding of the epidemiology and etiology of MetS and cancer and form the basis for future research and public health interventions. Acknowledgement: This project was supported by TUFCCC/HC Regional Comprehensive Cancer Health Disparity Partnership, Award Number U54 CA221704(5) (Contact PIs: Grace X. Ma, PhD and Olorunseun O. Ogunwobi, MD, PhD) from the National Cancer Institute of National Institutes of Health (NCI/NIH). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NCI/NIH.

Citation Format: Lin Zhu, Wenyue Lu, Mark Weiner, Konstantinos Krampis, Grace X Ma. The association between metabolic syndrome and five common types of cancer differs by gender and race/ethnicity: Evidence from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2019 Sep 20-23; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl_2):Abstract nr C079.