A prospective study of weight, body mass index and other anthropometric measurements in relation to site-specific cancers.

The association of weight, body mass index and other anthropometric measurements with cancer was investigated in a cohort of 7,840 men, examined and interviewed from 1965-1968 in Hawaii. After 23 years of follow-up, histologically confirmed incident cases of prostate (n = 306), colon (n = 289), lung (n = 236), stomach (n = 229) and rectal (n = 108) cancer were identified. Body weight was positively associated with prostate cancer. This direct association was stronger for cases diagnosed 11 or more years after examination than for those diagnosed earlier. A similar pattern was also present for the risk of colon cancer in association with weight and body mass index. For lung cancer, increased subscapular and triceps skinfold thickness were each associated with decreased risk with adjustment for cigarette smoking, but the inverse association did not persist as the time interval from exam to cancer diagnosis lengthened. There was no significant association between anthropometric measurements and stomach or rectal cancer.