While about a decade of research has suggested a link between
obesity and several forms of cancer, a preclinical study
published this week has begun to shed light on just how fat
progenitor cells may contribute to the deadly disease beyond the
effects of diet and exercise. Researchers from the University of
Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) found that
tumors emit a signal that attracts progenitor cells from white
adipose tissue in mouse models of cancer. These cells in turn
support the network of blood vessels associated with tumor
angiogenesis. Obese mice had far more of the white adipose
tissue stromal progenitor cells than did lean mice. And while
both types of mice were fed the same diet, tumors grew much
faster in the obese mice than they did on the lean ones. “The
mechanisms are not clear as to why obesity is linked with
cancer. We have a partial answer to that now,” Mikhail Kolonin,
Ph.D., an associate professor at the Center for Stem Cell &
Regenerative Medicine at The Brown Foundation