CANCER: Between

Showing posts with label Between. Show all posts

Thursday, June 20, 2013

60 Years Of Data Suggest A Link Between Obesity And Height In Childhood And Endometrial Cancer In Adulthood

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 14 May 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
60 Years Of Data Suggest A Link Between Obesity And Height In Childhood And Endometrial Cancer In Adulthood
not yet rated

New research presented at the European Congress in Liverpool (ECO) beginning today (Sunday 12 May) shows a possible link between obesity and height in childhood and endometrial cancer in adulthood. The research* is by Julie Aarestrup, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues.

Endometrial cancer is in Europe the fourth most common cancer in women with more than 90,000 new cases diagnosed each year. In adult women, a high body mass index (BMI) is associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer, whereas associations with height are limited. It is largely unknown, however, whether any of the risk originates in childhood. In this new study, the researchers investigated if childhood BMI and height at each age from 7-13 years were associated with risk of endometrial cancer in adulthood.

The total cohort consisted of 158,459 women from the Copenhagen School Health Records Register with data on measured heights and weights at 7-13 years who were born from between 1930 and 1989. BMI and height were transformed into age-specific z-scores, a method for comparing how large or tall a child is compared to a reference population. Follow-up occurred by linkage via a personal identification number to the Danish Cancer Registry, the Hospital Discharge Register (hysterectomy information), and the vital statistics register. Subjects were followed until a diagnosis of endometrial cancer, hysterectomy, death, emigration, loss-to-follow-up, or December 31, 2010; whichever came first.

The researchers found 940 diagnoses of endometrial cancer occurred during follow-up. At age 7 the risk of endometrial cancer in adulthood increased 18% per increase in BMI z-score and by 12% per increase in height z-score. To put this in perspective, compared to an average height and weight girl born in the late 1950s (122.4 cm, 22.9kg), another girl of the same height but who weighed 3.3 kg more would have an 18% higher risk of endometrial cancer. Further, height also increased the risk; compared to the same average girl, another girl of the same age but who was 5.2cm taller had a 12% increased risk of endometrial cancer. When looking at a girl aged 13 years born in the late 1950s compared to an average height and weight girl (156.7cm, 44.6 kg), another girl of the same height but who weighed 6.8kg more had a 24% increased risk of endometrial cancer; and another girl of the same age but who was 6.9cm taller had a 15% increased risk of endometrial cancer.

The peak age of endometrial cancer diagnosis is approximately 65 years. Therefore girls born in the 1950s are approaching their highest risk years. As the cohort members from later birth years continue to age, the study will continue to follow them in order to assess their risk of endometrial cancer.

Aarestrup concludes: "Higher BMI and height during childhood are associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer in adulthood. These results suggest that some risk of endometrial cancer observed in adult women has its origins in childhood."

Research is ongoing to refine these results by subtypes of endometrial cancer. This project forms part of a series of studies led by Dr. Jennifer L. Baker, also of the Institute of Preventive Medicine, that are exploring associations between childhood body size and the later risk of cancers including those of the liver, prostate and thyroid. *This study is part of the European Research Council (ERC) project 'Childgrowth2cancer: Childhood body size, growth and pubertal timing and the risk of cancer in adulthood' which is run by Associate Professor Jennifer L. Baker.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Source: Source: European Congress on Obesity (ECO)
Visit our obesity / weight loss / fitness section for the latest news on this subject. Source: European Congress on Obesity (ECO) Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

MLA

ECO. "60 Years Of Data Suggest A Link Between Obesity And Height In Childhood And Endometrial Cancer In Adulthood." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 14 May. 2013. Web.
20 May. 2013. APA

Please note: If no author information is provided, the source is cited instead.

'60 Years Of Data Suggest A Link Between Obesity And Height In Childhood And Endometrial Cancer In Adulthood'

Please note that we publish your name, but we do not publish your email address. It is only used to let you know when your message is published. We do not use it for any other purpose. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

If you write about specific medications or operations, please do not name health care professionals by name.

All opinions are moderated before being included (to stop spam)

Contact Our News Editors

For any corrections of factual information, or to contact the editors please use our feedback form.

Please send any medical news or health news press releases to:

Note: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our terms and conditions.

View the original article here

Friday, June 14, 2013

Link Suggested Between Tumor Suppressors And Starvation Survival

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Genetics;??Eye Health / Blindness;??Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 14 May 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Link Suggested Between Tumor Suppressors And Starvation Survival
3 stars

A particular tumor suppressor gene* that fights cancer cells does more than clamp down on unabated cell division -- the hallmark of the disease -- it also can help make cells more fit by allowing them to fend off stress, says a University of Colorado Boulder study.

CU-Boulder Professor Min Han said the research team was interested in how a common tumor suppressor gene known as Retinoblastoma 1, or Rb, behaved under conditions of starvation. The question is important, said Han, because it may help researchers understand why many cancer cells are more susceptible to starvation or fasting than ordinary cells.

Han and his team studied a popular lab organism called C. elegans, a translucent nematode smaller than an eyelash. Many of the C. elegansC. elegans in the absence of food to look at the corresponding stress response.

"We found the tumor suppressor Rb is a critical regulator of the starvation response," said Han, who also is a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. "Rb is known for doing more than just suppressing cell division associated with cancer -- it carries out a host of other cellular tasks including regulating development. The new findings by our group and research by other groups suggest organisms survive longer when they encounter starvation by regulating the expression of a large number of genes."

A paper on the subject was published online in Current Biology, a publication of Cell Press. The co-authors on the study, Mingxue Cui, Max Cohen and Cindy Teng, are all researchers associated with both CU-Boulder and HHMI. The study was funded by HHMI and the National Institutes of Health.

As part of the study, the researchers monitored the two- to three-week survival time of hundreds of C. elegans hatchlings in an environment with no food, which caused immediate "developmental arrest," said Han, a professor in CU-Boulder's molecular, cellular and developmental biology department. "The survival time of the young nematodes is dramatically shorter when the Rb gene is mutated, which causes changes in the activities of multiple cell signaling pathways."

The study suggests that Rb plays a critical role in maintaining a starvation-induced "transcriptome," which is the transcription of DNA to corresponding bits of RNA that allow researchers to pinpoint when and where each gene is turned on or off in the cells, he said. Under starved conditions, for example, Rb represses some responses induced by other physical stressors like pathogens and toxins.

Han said the Rb gene is mutated in a large percentage of human cancers. Hundreds of mutations in the RB gene have been identified in people with retinoblastoma, a rare type of eye cancer that usually strikes young children.

"Altogether, these findings identify Rb as a critical regulator of the starvation response and suggest a link between functions of tumor suppressors and starvation survival," the team wrote in Current Biology. "These results may provide mechanistic insights into why cancer cells are often hypersensitive to starvation treatment."

Quotes

"We found the tumor suppressor Rb is a critical regulator of the starvation response," said Min Han, a professor in CU-Boulder's molecular, cellular and developmental biology department. "Rb is known for doing more than just suppressing cell division associated with cancer -- it carries out a host of other cellular tasks including regulating development. The new findings by our group and research by other groups suggest organisms survive longer when they encounter starvation by regulating the expression of a large number of genes."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our cancer / oncology section for the latest news on this subject.
A tumor supressor gene found in the common laboratory nematode, C. elegans, has been shown to not only shut down cancerous cell division but also to fend off stress, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

There are about 330 HHMI Investigators in the nation, including 15 Nobel laureates and 157 members of the National Academy of Sciences. Other HHMI Investigators at CU-Boulder include Natalie Ahn, Kristi Anseth, Tom Cech (also a Nobel laureate) and Roy Parker. In addition, HHMI Investigator Lee Niswander is at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.

University of Colorado at Boulder

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report: