Cancer Research and Treatment

Original Articles

Skin cancer

Association between Obesity and Melanoma Risk in an Asian Population: A Nationwide Cohort Study: Hye Yeon Koo, Kyungdo Han, Jihye Park, Jinhyung Jung, Seonghye Kim, Hyeonjin Cho, In Young Cho, Dong Wook Shin; Cancer Res Treat. 2026;58(2):677-685. Published online June 18, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2025.169

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Purpose
Previous studies from mostly Western populations have suggested possible associations between obesity and melanoma risk. This study aimed to investigate associations between obesity status and melanoma using a nationwide cohort of Koreans.
Materials and Methods
A total of 4,441,403 adults who received a national health examination in 2012 were included from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, and followed until December 31, 2022. Obesity status was defined based on the body mass index at the baseline health examination. Cox proportional hazards analyses were performed to evaluate associations between obesity status and incident melanoma, with adjustment for confounders. Stratified analyses were performed by sex and menopausal status (in women).
Results
Overall, melanoma risk increased according to obesity status (p for trend=0.024); adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for melanoma risk were 0.766 (0.438–1.340) in underweight; 1.292 (1.072–1.557) in overweight; 1.202 (1.002–1.442) in obesity; and 1.191 (0.798–1.778) in severe obesity compared to normal weight (reference). In stratified analyses, similar trends to those of the overall study population were observed among men and premenopausal women (p for trend=0.052 in men and 0.036 in premenopausal women). Among premenopausal women, the risk of melanoma increased linearly with obesity status. Meanwhile, among postmenopausal women, melanoma risk showed no significant difference or trend according to obesity status.
Conclusion
Overweight and obesity were associated with increased risk of melanoma in a population-based cohort of Koreans. Obese individuals, especially men and premenopausal women, may require more thorough prevention and screening strategies for melanoma.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Obesity and Cancer: Mechanisms, Epidemiological Evidence, and Potential Risk Reduction
Jung-sun Lim, Seonghye Kim, In Young Cho, Dong Wook Shin
Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome.2026; 35(1): 14. CrossRef
Obesity and melanoma: unraveling the paradoxical survival benefit in immunotherapy
Junjie Yang, Qingqing Hu, Chunyu Xue
Cancer and Metastasis Reviews.2026;[Epub] CrossRef

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General

Weight Change after Cancer Diagnosis and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus: A Population-Based Nationwide Study: Hye Yeon Koo, Kyungdo Han, Mi Hee Cho, Wonyoung Jung, Jinhyung Jung, In Young Cho, Dong Wook Shin; Cancer Res Treat. 2025;57(2):339-349. Published online August 29, 2024; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2024.586

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material PubReader ePub

Purpose
Cancer survivors are at increased risk of diabetes mellitus (DM). Additionally, the prevalence of obesity, which is also a risk factor for DM, is increasing in cancer survivors. We investigated the associations between weight change after cancer diagnosis and DM risk.
Materials and Methods
This retrospective cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service. Participants who were newly diagnosed with cancer from 2010 to 2016 and received national health screening before and after diagnosis were included and followed until 2019. Weight change status after cancer diagnosis was categorized into four groups: sustained normal weight, obese to normal weight, normal weight to obese, or sustained obese. Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed to examine associations between weight change and DM.
Results
The study population comprised 264,250 cancer survivors. DM risk was highest in sustained obese (adjusted hazard ratios [aHR], 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.08 to 2.26), followed by normal weight to obese (aHR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.54 to 1.79), obese to normal weight (aHR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.21 to 1.39), and then sustained normal weight group (reference). In subgroup analyses according to cancer type, most cancers showed the highest risks in sustained obese group.
Conclusion
Obesity at any time point was related to increased DM risk, presenting the highest risk in cancer survivors with sustained obesity. Survivors who changed from obese to normal weight had lower risk than survivors with sustained obesity. Survivors who changed from normal weight to obese showed increased risk compared to those who sustained normal weight. Our finding supports the significance of weight management among cancer survivors.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

New‐onset prediabetes/diabetes worsens overall survival in patients with cancer: A real‐world retrospective cohort study
Maci Winn, Svenja Pauleck, Stephanie Richardson, Richard Viskochil, Prasoona Karra, Howard Colman, Jennifer A. Doherty, Yizhe Xu, Siwen Hu‐Lieskovan, Michelle Litchman, Mary C. Playdon, Sheetal Hardikar
Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.2026; 28(2): 1247. CrossRef
Risk of Newly Incident Diabetes Mellitus and Treatment Risk Factors in Breast Cancer Survivors: Landmark Analyses of Nationwide Data
Hyeongjin Shim, Bong-seong Kim, Kyungdo Han, Hye Yeon Koo, Seonghye Kim, Dagyeong Lee, In Young Cho, Wonyoung Jung, Dong Wook Shin
Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health.2026; 38(4): 265. CrossRef
Effects of smoking behavior change on diabetes incidence after cancer development: A nationwide cohort study
MI Hee Cho, Jinhyung Jung, Hye Yeon Koo, Wonyoung Jung, Kyungdo Han, In Young Cho, Dong Wook Shin
Diabetes & Metabolism.2025; 51(1): 101604. CrossRef

4,544 View
159 Download
3 Web of Science
3 Crossref

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