Overview

• University of Bristol researchers assessed five adiposity traits using genetic instruments: abdominal subcutaneous, visceral, gluteofemoral, liver, and pancreatic fat.
• Results showed heterogeneous patterns by cancer type, with higher abdominal subcutaneous fat linked to greater risks for endometrial, liver, and esophageal adenocarcinoma.
• Greater gluteofemoral fat correlated with lower risks of breast cancer and meningioma, while liver and visceral fat increased liver cancer risk.
• Pancreatic fat was associated with higher risk of endometrioid ovarian cancer, underscoring the limits of BMI for individual risk assessment.
• The team urges mechanistic research, tests of interventions, and studies in non-European populations; funding came from WCRF UK and Cancer Research UK.