02/02/2024
Obesity and Cancer!
You may be surprised to learn that being overweight or having obesity are linked with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer.
Several possible mechanisms have been suggested to explain how obesity might increase the risks of some cancers:
Fat tissue (also called adipose tissue) produces excess amounts of estrogen, high levels of which have been associated with increased risks of breast, endometrial, ovarian, and some other cancers.
People with obesity often have increased blood levels of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). High levels of insulin, a condition known as hyperinsulinemia, is due to insulin resistance and precedes the development of type 2 diabetes, another known cancer risk factor. High levels of insulin and IGF-1 may promote the development of colon, kidney, prostate, and endometrial cancers.
People with obesity often have chronic inflammatory conditions such as gallstonesor non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These conditions can cause oxidative stress, which leads to DNA damage and increases the risk of biliary tract and other cancers.
Fat cells produce hormones called adipokines that can stimulate or inhibit cell growth. For example, the level of an adipokine called leptin in the blood increases with increasing body fat, and high levels of leptin can promote aberrant cell proliferation. Another adipokine, adiponectin, is less abundant in people with obesity than in people with a healthy weight and may have antiproliferative effects that protect against tumor growth.
Fat cells may also have direct and indirect effects on other cell growth and metabolic regulators, including mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and AMP-activated protein kinase.
Other possible mechanisms by which obesity could affect cancer risk include impaired tumor immunity and changes in the mechanical properties of the scaffolding tissue that surrounds developing tumors.
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