Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to review the association of the obesity pandemic with appearance of cancers in young adults under age 50 and to define potential mechanisms by which obesity may accelerate the development of malignancy. METHODS: A comprehensive narrative review was performed to integrate preclinical, clinical, and epidemiologic evidence describing the association of obesity with cancer in young adults based on a search of PubMed and Google databases. RESULTS: Results from more than 100 publications are summarized. Although they differ in age groups analyzed and incidence of obesity, sufficient data exists to suggest an influence of the obesity pandemic on the increase of cancer among young adults. CONCLUSIONS: Cancer in young adults is occurring with increasing frequency. Overweight and obesity have become major public health issues reaching pandemic proportions. Excess weight is associated with increased cancer risk, morbidity, and mortality. Multiple murine models indicate that obesity not only increases cancer incidence but also accelerates its development. Thus, the possibility exists that overweight and obesity may be contributing to the appearance of specific malignancies at younger ages. This prospect, in association with the worldwide expansion of obesity, suggests an impending explosive increase in obesity-associated cancers in young adults.