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Cancer-obesity link discovery by MSU researchers could aid prevention efforts
May 01, 2009EAST LANSING, Mich. - A new link between body fat and cancer identified by a Michigan State University researcher underscores obesity's health risk and could lead to new cancer treatment and prevention strategies.
Jenifer Fenton, an MSU food science and human nutrition researcher with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, identified the connection between obesity and colon cancer, the third-leading killer of Americans, in part by examining tissue hormones.
Working with MSU/MAES physiologist Julia Busik and biologist Fay Hansen-Smith of Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., Fenton examined a key hormone found in fat tissue and thought to promote cancer. Her conclusions are published in a study today in the journal Carcinogenesis.
Leptin - a fat cell-derived hormone regulating body energy - is higher in obese individuals. Fenton's study is the first to demonstrate that, at higher levels, leptin induces precancerous colon cells to produce more of a growth factor that can increase blood supply to early cancer cells - promoting tumor growth and cancer progression.
"Adipose tissue, or fat, is recognized as a significant risk factor for diabetes and heart disease, but the role of adipose tissue in cancer risk is less understood," Fenton said. "Abdominal fat in particular seems to be associated with the greatest risk for cancer. As your waist-to-hip ratio increases, so does your risk for cancer, especially breast, colon and endometrial cancers."
Some 149,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer and 50,000 will die from it this year, according to the American Cancer Society. More than a million have been diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer in the U.S. as of 2006, the National Cancer Institute reported.
Fenton and her team focused on colon cancer because, unlike breast or prostate cancer, colon cancer affects both genders equally, allowing them broader reach and a larger impact on cancer prevention.
"Trying to address the problem when someone already has a late-stage tumor is not primary prevention," Fenton said. "Our goal is to understand the active signals and mechanisms involved so we can create opportunities to prevent or interrupt cancer progression early in the process.
"The impact of obesity and cancer are a priority for the health of the nation," Fenton added. "Although weight loss is the ideal prevention strategy for reducing obesity as a risk factor for colon cancer, 95 percent of all people who lose weight will gain it back - and often more - within a year, so behavior modification as a prevention strategy is difficult and challenging. For this reason, continuing research also will include the identification of dietary compounds that may prevent or reduce colon cancer risk associated with obesity in the absence of weight loss."
The study, "Novel Mechanism for Obesity-induced Colon Cancer Progression," is available online.
The research is supported by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the National Cancer Institute.
Michigan State University
Leptin - a fat cell-derived hormone regulating body energy - is higher in obese individuals. Fenton's study is the first to demonstrate that, at higher levels, leptin induces precancerous colon cells to produce more of a growth factor that can increase blood supply to early cancer cells - promoting tumor growth and cancer progression.
"Adipose tissue, or fat, is recognized as a significant risk factor for diabetes and heart disease, but the role of adipose tissue in cancer risk is less understood," Fenton said. "Abdominal fat in particular seems to be associated with the greatest risk for cancer. As your waist-to-hip ratio increases, so does your risk for cancer, especially breast, colon and endometrial cancers."
Some 149,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer and 50,000 will die from it this year, according to the American Cancer Society. More than a million have been diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer in the U.S. as of 2006, the National Cancer Institute reported.
Fenton and her team focused on colon cancer because, unlike breast or prostate cancer, colon cancer affects both genders equally, allowing them broader reach and a larger impact on cancer prevention.
"Trying to address the problem when someone already has a late-stage tumor is not primary prevention," Fenton said. "Our goal is to understand the active signals and mechanisms involved so we can create opportunities to prevent or interrupt cancer progression early in the process.
"The impact of obesity and cancer are a priority for the health of the nation," Fenton added. "Although weight loss is the ideal prevention strategy for reducing obesity as a risk factor for colon cancer, 95 percent of all people who lose weight will gain it back - and often more - within a year, so behavior modification as a prevention strategy is difficult and challenging. For this reason, continuing research also will include the identification of dietary compounds that may prevent or reduce colon cancer risk associated with obesity in the absence of weight loss."
The study, "Novel Mechanism for Obesity-induced Colon Cancer Progression," is available online.
The research is supported by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and the National Cancer Institute.
Michigan State University
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Scientists are reporting development of a nano-size capsule that boosts the body's uptake of curcumin, an ingredient in yellow curry now being evaluated in clinical trials for treatment of several diseases.
Colon cancer screening more effective earlier in day, UCLA study finds
The effectiveness of a screening colonoscopy may depend on the time of day it is performed. According to a new UCLA study, early-morning colonoscopies yielded more polyps per patient than later screenings, and fewer polyps were found hour by hour as the day progressed.
Study shows hormone replacement therapy decreases mortality in younger postmenopausal woman
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat menopausal estrogen deficiency has been in widespread use for over 60 years. Several observational studies over the years showed that HRT use by younger postmenopausal women was associated with a significant reduction in total mortality; available evidence supported the routine use of HRT to increase longevity in postmenopausal women.
Experts issue call to reconsider screening for breast cancer and prostate cancer
Twenty years of screening for breast and prostate cancer - the most diagnosed cancer for women and men - have not brought the anticipated decline in deaths from these diseases, argue experts from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in an opinion piece published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."
Metals could forge new cancer drug
Drugs made using unusual metals could form an effective treatment against colon and ovarian cancer, including cancerous cells that have developed immunity to other drugs, according to research at the University of Warwick and the University of Leeds.
New data: Hospital imaging centers poised to pull back, hitting patients hardest in rural areas
Survivors and patients with cancers and heart disease, along with patient advocate organizations and physicians, today urged policymakers to enhance early diagnosis of deadly diseases by preserving access to advanced imaging, such as MRI and CT scans, in final health care reform legislation.
Whole-brain radiotherapy after surgery or radiosurgery not recommended for brain metastases
Whole-brain radiotherapy should not be given routinely to all patients whose cancer has spread to the brain, say researchers who found that using it after surgery or radiosurgery in patients with a limited number of brain metastases and stable cancer in the rest of the body did not extend lives or help patients remain functionally independent for longer.
New blood tests promise simple, cost-effective diagnosis of gastrointestinal cancers
Promising results from two new blood tests that can aid in the early identification of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers will be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress.
GEN reports on expanding NextGen sequencing applications
Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies are not only beginning to supplant traditional Sanger sequencing methodology but are also giving DNA microarrays a run for the money as well, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).
Natural compounds, chemotherapeutic drugs may become partners in cancer therapy
Research in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University suggests that some natural food compounds, which previously have been studied for their ability to prevent cancer, may be able to play a more significant role in treating it - working side-by-side with the conventional drugs that are now used in chemotherapy.
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