Rethinking Obesity-Driven Cancer Risk: Beyond BMI to Organ Size and Cellular Burden

In this interview with Pharmacy Times, Cristian Tomasetti, Ph.D., discusses emerging evidence that challenges the reliance on body mass index (BMI) alone in assessing cancer risk among patients with obesity. He highlights how significant variation in organ size at the same BMI may better reflect cancer risk by indicating the number of cells and cumulative mutations within tissues. Tomasetti explains that this mechanistic approach, centered on hyperplasia and increased cell division, offers a more direct link between obesity and cancer development than traditional theories focused on inflammation or hormonal changes. Although still early, he notes that organ size measurement through noninvasive imaging could eventually become part of routine clinical practice.