A Canadian study reveals that children with cancer who are obese at diagnosis face an elevated risk of relapse and death. The population-based research analyzed data from 11,291 children aged 2 to 18 years in the Cancer in Young People in Canada (CYP-C) database between 2001 and 2020. Obesity was defined as a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile for age and sex. Among the participants, 10.5% were obese at diagnosis.

The study found that five-year event-free survival (cancer relapse-free survival) was lower for obese children (77.5%) compared to non-obese peers (79.6%).