Abstract
This article presents the first detailed overview of the mechanisms that may underlie the relation of obesity with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) and multiple myeloma (MM). Epidemiologic studies, including meta-analyses of prospective cohorts, have reported that the risks of NHL and MM are significantly increased in obese, relative to normal weight, women and men. Accumulating experimental and clinical evidence suggests that inflammatory cytokines, hyperinsulinemia, and sex hormones could play a role in the association of obesity with B-cell NHL and MM carcinogenesis. There is, however, a paucity of data published from appropriate large prospective cohort studies, and studies concurrently measuring these correlated factors, to formally determine the likely biologic factors driving the relationship of obesity with NHL and MM. Additional strengths and weaknesses of the current literature, as well as study design issues that need to be considered in conducting these studies, such as the exclusion of type 2 diabetics or postmenopausal women using hormone therapy, are discussed.