The DOI matches its Crossref record; 18 of the 18 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Risk of colorectal cancer after initiation of orlistat: matched cohort study
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the risk of colorectal cancer after orlistat initiation in the UK population. DESIGN: Retrospective matched cohort study. SETTING: Data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink from September 1998 to December 2008. PARTICIPANTS: 33,625 adults aged 18 years or over who started treatment with orlistat; each orlistat initiator was matched to up to five non-initiators (n=160,347) on age, sex, body mass index, and calendar time. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Associations between orlistat initiation and the risk of colorectal cancer, assessed by calculating hazard ratios with propensity score adjusted Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Of 193,972 patients with a median age of 47 (interquartile range 37-57) years, 77% were women and approximately 90% were obese (body mass index ≥ 30). Orlistat initiators were more likely to have a previous history of diabetes or hypertension and to receive prescriptions for anti-diabetes drugs, statins, and aspirin compared with non-initiators. In the intention to treat analysis, 57 colorectal cancer events were identified among orlistat initiators and 246 among non-initiators, with median follow-up times of 2.96 and 2.86 years, respectively. The calculated incidence rate of colorectal cancer per 100,000 person years was 53 (95% confidence interval 41 to 69) for orlistat initiators and 50 (44 to 57) for non-initiators. Orlistat initiation was not associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer (adjusted hazard ratio 1.11, 95% confidence interval 0.84 to 1.47). Findings were robust in the as treated analyses and in patients who were aged 50 years or over, were morbidly obese, or had a history of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: This study found no evidence of an increased risk of colorectal cancer after the initiation of orlistat. It is limited by the relatively short follow-up time, and the possibility of adverse effects of long term orlistat use on risk of colorectal cancer cannot be excluded.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Orlistat has occasionally been associated with case reports of colon and breast cancer.
“Orlistat, a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor, has occasionally been associated with case reports of colon and breast cancer.”
From Precision obesity medicine: A phenotype-guided framework for pharmacologic therapy across the lifespan (2025) · cites this paper as [148]
The Discussion (page not provided) mentions a small number of colon-cancer cases in the spontaneous adverse-event reporting system, which supports the colon-cancer portion as a report of cases, not a causal association. Neither the Introduction nor the Discussion mentions breast-cancer case reports. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredA large population-based analysis using UK registry data over 10 years found no increase in colorectal cancer risk with orlistat.
“However, a large population-based analysis using UK registry data over 10 years found no increase in colorectal cancer risk [148].”
From Precision obesity medicine: A phenotype-guided framework for pharmacologic therapy across the lifespan (2025) · cites this paper as [148]
A large cohort study (n = 33,625 orlistat users; 160,374 placebo users) found no risk of colorectal cancer after orlistat administration.
“In contrast, a previously conducted large cohort study (n = 33,625 with orlistat; 160,374 with placebo) showed no risk of colorectal cancer after the administration of orlistat [28].”
From Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Anti-Obesity Treatment: Where Do We Stand? (2021) · cites this paper as [28]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects
ROSENBAUM, P. R., & RUBIN, D. B. (1983) · Biometrika · doi:10.1093/biomet/70.1.41 · Cited by 31,241
The Central Role of the Propensity Score in Observational Studies for Causal Effects
Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983) · Biometrika · doi:10.2307/2335942 · Cited by 3,495
XENical in the Prevention of Diabetes in Obese Subjects (XENDOS) Study
Torgerson, J. S., Hauptman, J., Boldrin, M. N., & Sjöström, L. (2004) · Diabetes Care · doi:10.2337/diacare.27.1.155 · Cited by 1,915
Obesity and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of 31 studies with 70,000 events
Moghaddam, A. A., Woodward, M., & Huxley, R. (2007) · Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention · doi:10.1158/1055-9965.epi-07-0708 · Cited by 680
Aberrant Crypt Foci of the Colon as Precursors of Adenoma and Cancer
Takayama, T., Katsuki, S., Takahashi, Y., Ohi, M., Nojiri, S., Sakamaki, S., Kato, J., Kogawa, K., Miyake, H., & Niitsu, Y. (1998) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm199810293391803 · Cited by 594
Marginal Structural Models as a Tool for Standardization
Sato, T. S., & Matsuyama, Y. (2003) · Epidemiology · doi:10.1097/01.ede.0000081989.82616.7d · Cited by 456
BMI and waist circumference as predictors of lifetime colon cancer risk in Framingham Study adults
Moore, L. L., Bradlee, M. L., Singer, M. R., Splansky, G. L., Proctor, M. H., Ellison, R. C., & Kreger, B. E. (2004) · International Journal of Obesity · doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0802606 · Cited by 316
Hutton, B., & Fergusson, D. A. (2004) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1461 · Cited by 149
A systematic review of the impact of weight loss on cancer incidence and mortality
Birks, S., Peeters, A., Backholer, K., O'Brien, P., & Brown, W. A. (2012) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1467-789x.2012.01010.x · Cited by 118
A systematic review of the clinical effectiveness of orlistat used for the management of obesity
O'Meara, S., Riemsma, R., Shirran, L., Mather, L., & Ter Riet, G. (2004) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1467-789x.2004.00125.x · Cited by 103
Body Size, Weight Change, and Risk of Colon Cancer
Bassett, J. K., Severi, G., English, D. R., Baglietto, L., Krishnan, K., Hopper, J. L., & Giles, G. G. (2010) · Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention · doi:10.1158/1055-9965.epi-10-0543 · Cited by 98
Weight change and cancer risk in a cohort of more than 65 000 adults in Austria
Rapp, K., Klenk, J., Ulmer, H., Concin, H., Diem, G., Oberaigner, W., & Schroeder, J. C. (2007) · Annals of Oncology · doi:10.1093/annonc/mdm549 · Cited by 92
Jacob, S., Rabbia, M. A., Meier, M. K., & Hauptman, J. B. (2009) · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · doi:10.1111/j.1463-1326.2008.00970.x · Cited by 72
Aberrant Crypt Foci: What We Know and What We Need to Know
Gupta, A. K., Pretlow, T. P., & Schoen, R. E. (2007) · Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology · doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2007.02.014 · Cited by 67
Garcia, S. B., da Costa Barros, L. T., Turatti, A., Martinello, F., Modiano, P., Ribeiro-Silva, A., de Oliveira Vespúcio, M. V., & Uyemura, S. A. (2006) · Cancer Letters · doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2005.09.011 · Cited by 57
Aberrant crypt foci of the colon as precursors of adenoma and cancer
Takayama, T., Katsuki, S., Takahashi, Y., et al. (1998) · European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology · doi:10.1097/00042737-199812000-00021 · Cited by 49
A Multicenter Study of Prevalence and Risk Factors for Aberrant Crypt Foci
Mutch, M. G., Schoen, R. E., Fleshman, J. W., et al. (2009) · Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology · doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2009.01.016 · Cited by 42
Long‐term changes in blood pressure following orlistat and sibutramine treatment: a meta‐analysis
Johansson, K., Sundström, J., Neovius, K., Rössner, S., & Neovius, M. (2009) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/j.1467-789x.2009.00693.x · Cited by 42
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
LeBlanc, E. S., Patnode, C. D., Webber, E. M., Redmond, N., Rushkin, M., & O’Connor, E. A. (2018) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.2018.7777 · Cited by 463
Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Anti-Obesity Treatment: Where Do We Stand?
Tak, Y. J., & Lee, S. Y. (2021) · Current Obesity Reports · doi:10.1007/s13679-020-00422-w · Cited by 343
Ahmad, N. N., Robinson, S., Kennedy‐Martin, T., Poon, J. L., & Kan, H. (2021) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.13326 · Cited by 69
Tuccinardi, D., Masi, D., Watanabe, M., Zanghi Buffi, V., De Domenico, F., Berti, S., Cipriani, V., Manco, M., Manfrini, S., & Pagotto, U. (2025) · Journal of Endocrinological Investigation · doi:10.1007/s40618-025-02700-7 · Cited by 29
Metadata
- Authors
- Hong, J.-L., Meier, C. R., Sandler, R. S., Jick, S. S., & Sturmer, T.
- Affiliations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hong, J.-L.
- Venue
- BMJ
- Publisher
- BMJ
- Published
- 2013-08-27
- Volume
- 347
- Issue
- aug27 2
- Pages
- f5039-f5039
- ISSN
- 1756-1833 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3754767
- OpenAlex
- W1983876438
- Cited by
- 38
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2
- FWCI
- 1.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- BMJ (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- UNC Libraries
- Funders
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG023178)
- National Cancer Institute (P30CA016086)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology (medical) › Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Risks and Factors
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Colorectal Cancer Screening and Detection
- Keywords
- orlistat, colorectal cancer, cancer risk, obesity, anti-obesity drugs, drug safety, matched cohort, propensity score, morbid obesity, diabetes mellitus
- MeSH terms
- Orlistat, Adult, Epidemiologic Methods, Female, Humans, Lactones, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Colorectal Neoplasms, Anti-Obesity Agents
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
