Expanding Waistlines Could Contribute To Cancer Fat progenitor
cells may contribute to cancer growth by fortifying the vessels
that provide needed blood to tumors, according to preclinical
research findings by investigators at The University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results were
reported in Cancer Research, a journal of the American
Association for Cancer Research. Studies of groups of people
have demonstrated a link between obesity and certain cancers;
however, the physiological causes have not been identified. The
World Health Organization reports that in 2008 there were more
than 1.4 billion obese adults in the world and that cancer
claimed the lives of 7.6 million that year. Some researchers
have theorized that what obese people eat may affect cancer
progression. However, although diet is an important factor, the
direct effect of excess fat tissue on tumors has to be taken
into consideration, said Mikhail Kolonin, Ph.D., senior author
and associate professor at the Center