BMJ: Oxford University study, sudden weight loss may be cancer? Be alert to these symptoms!

Adjusting your diet and increasing your exercise is the way many people choose to lose weight and lose weight.
But if a person's lifestyle hasn't changed significantly, they haven't changed their eating habits, they haven't exercised much, they've suddenly lost weight, and they can't find a reason, it's time to pay attention to potential illnesses, such as cancer.
sudden weight loss may be a sign of cancer, but diabetes, stomach ulcers and mental illness can also cause the condition.
, it is particularly important to identify which people who have suddenly lost weight should be screened for cancer in a timely manner.
study, published online in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), analysed the clinical characteristics associated with sudden weight loss, including symptoms, signs and blood test results, that further increase the risk of cancer.
Professor Paul Aveyard, of Oxford University and one of the study's authors, said: "Doctors face a dilemma where patients who suddenly lose weight may have cancer, but their symptoms are not sufficient to justify further testing immediately or point to specific types of cancer, and this study allows us to define some key signs and symptoms to help doctors take the right action faster, which can improve the prognosis of patients."
" team, led by Oxford University, analysed data from the Clinical Practice Research Data Chain (CPRD, a UK electronic health records database) involving 64,000 subjects, 58.2 per cent of whom were women and 41.8 per cent were men, and 51.8 per cent were over the age of 60.
researchers counted the clinical characteristics of the subjects at the time of diagnosis and treatment after a sudden weight loss.
also collected lifestyle information such as smoking and drinking, as well as a history of the disease and the incidence of cancer within 3-6 months of diagnosis and treatment.
In the six months following the sudden weight loss, 908 subjects developed cancer, most commonly lung cancer, followed by colorectal, stomach, esophageal, pancreatic and lymphoma;
after adjusting for factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, further analysis found that subjects who lost weight suddenly were significantly more likely to develop cancer within six months, especially among men.
overall, subjects who lost weight suddenly were twice as likely to develop cancer as those who did not lose weight suddenly;
Among male subjects, sudden weight loss was associated with these 10 clinical symptoms and signs, increasing the risk of cancer by 198-510%, including abdominal pain (118%), loss of appetite (196%), difficulty swallowing (246%), Hemorrhea (326%), non-cardio-source chest pain (86%), abdominal lumps (510%), chest symptoms (441%), iron deficiency anemia (396%), jaundice (467%) and lymph node disease (162%).
Among female subjects, sudden weight loss with 11 clinical symptoms and signs increased the risk of cancer by 86%-1990%, abdominal pain (130%), loss of appetite (157%), back pain (62%), and changes in detocation habits (25) 4%), indigestion (155%), abdominal lumps (448%), chest symptoms (1080%), iron deficiency anemia (270%), jaundice (1990%), lymph node disease (138%) and venous thrombosis (540%).
In addition, a number of blood test results were associated with an increased risk of cancer, including low albumin (367%), elevated alkaline phosphatase (54%), low hemoglobin (205%), increased total white blood cells (276%) and elevated C-reactive protein (259%).
Researchers analyzing the subjects' clinical characteristics and cancer types found that some clinical characteristics are often thought to be associated with cancer in a single site, but some clinical characteristics are associated with increased risk of cancer in multiple sites when sudden weight loss occurs at the same time.
e.g. women with indigestion and sudden weight loss are more likely to develop cancer in the stomach or esophageal, intestines, pancreas, lungs, bone connective or soft tissue, lymphoma, breast, central nervous system and leukemia.
, of the University of Exeter and one of the study's authors, added: "This study is important to improve cancer diagnosis, and we all know that sudden weight loss can be cancer.
now we know what to ask patients about and what cancers to look for.
who suddenly lose weight often go to different specialists before their cancer is discovered, our research should improve the process so that more cancers can be detected at an earlier stage.
" For people who suddenly lose weight, in addition to timely diagnosis and treatment, should also be their signs or symptoms in detail to inform the medical staff, the relevant examination, eliminate the possibility of cancer, or timely detection of cancer, early treatment to improve survival.
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