Prevention of Obesity-related Cancers: Setting up of a Multi-Cancer Education and Prevention Program in Hong Kong

Summary

Obesity could increase the risk of many chronic diseases, including hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, high lipid level, diabetes, stroke, endometrial cancer and certain types of cancer which could benefit by secondary prevention through screening programs. The World Cancer Research Fund of the American Institute for Cancer Research has reviewed all the studies about the link between obesity and cancer. Studies shown that obesity is an independent risk factor for colorectal, breast and prostate cancer. These three cancers (will be named as "obesity-related cancers" thereafter) demonstrate a rapidly increasing trend of incidence in Asia in the past decade.

Among Chinese adults of Hong Kong in 2014, 39% were overweight or obese (compared with 20.9% reported in European adults in the same year) and up to 69.7% reported that they did not perform any measures to achieve optimal weight control. Men (49.6%) had a higher proportion of overweight or obesity than females (29.5%). Adults who are aged 45-54 had the highest rate (50.5%) of overweight or obesity than other age groups. In addition, there were 62.5% whose physical activity level did not meet the recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO). Only 18.7% consumed at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables per day; yet about 30% were alcoholic drinkers; and more than 10% were daily or occasional smoker. These figures imply that the incidence of obesity and obesity-related cancers will further escalate - and urgent actions at the community level are needed to combat the rising incidence and mortality of these conditions.

According to Hong Kong Cancer Registry, the discrepancy between the number of new cases (incidence) and number of deaths (mortality) is much higher for colorectal, breast and prostate cancer as compared to other cancers. It is well recognized that screening could effectively reduce mortality for these three obesity-related cancers when they are detected at an earlier stage.

The concept of a one-stop approach to screen for multiple cancers was found to be feasible, with an ability to detect a wide range of neoplastic lesions at an early stage. In the recent decade, there are also emerging centres that have been established as multi-cancer screening clinics worldwide. Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of studies that have highlighted the outcomes of these multi-cancer screening programs.

Conditions

• Obesity
• Colorectal Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Breast Cancer

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Faecal Immunochemical Test

Faecal Immunochemical Test detects if there is any hemoglobin presents in stools, so even tiny amount of blood in stool can be found.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Prostate-Specific Antigen Test

PSA blood test is used to measure the level of PSA in blood. When the PSA level is higher than normal, it may represent prostate cancer or benign prostate hyperplasia. Patient who have high PSA level should receive additional tests.

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Mammogram

Each sides of breast will be taken imaging in 2 different views.The breast will be pressed between 2 plastic plates to flatten and spread the breast tissue for clear imaging.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Chinese University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Joseph JY Sung · Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SCREENING

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

40 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2018-08-06

Primary Completion

2022-12-31

Completion

2023-12-31

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations