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2007-8-28 16:25:04 |
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Obesity and lack of exercise may raise the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study published in the August 15, 2007 issue of Cancer Research. But it should be cautioned that no causal relation between the two has been established. The study found both pancreatic cancer patients and people with obesity and lacking exercise tended to have low levels of a protein called IGFBP-1, prompting researchers to believe there is a connection between the two. For the study, Brian M. Wolpin, M.D., attending physician at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and colleagues examined data for 144 patients with pancreatic cancer and 429 people without the disease. The study subjects came from four large-scale cohort studies ?the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, the Nurses?Health Study, the Physicians?Health Study and the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. The researchers found cancer patients with low levels of the protein were twice as likely as those who had high levels to have pancreatic cancer. Earlier studies have linked low levels of the protein to obesity and lack of exercise. Pancreatic cancer is highly deadly and kills about 33,000 Americans each year, according to the American Cancer Society. According to Dr. Wolphin, smoking is responsible for 20 percent of the cases whereas obesity and lack of exercise may account for a similar percentage. “The prognosis for many patients with pancreatic cancer remains poor, so it is vitally important that we identify and better understand risk factors for the disease, particularly risk factors that are modifiable?said Dr. Wolpin. “In addition to cigarette smoking, exercise and weight control appear to be important modifiable risk factors for this difficult disease.?/span> Previous studies have linked IGFBP-1 with increased risk of other cancers such as colorectal and endometrial cancer. The association between low levels of IGFBP-1 and high risk of pancreatic cancer seems possible, according to early studies. It's known that IGFBP-1 binds with insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a hormone normally associated with growth and development, the researches said. Laboratory studies show IGF increases the growth of pancreatic cancer cells while IGFBP-1 sequesters IGF. One simple method to test if the association exists is to see how many pancreatic cancer patients in the study were obese, a scientist affiliated with foodconsumer.org suggests. If many study subjects were obese, better yet, they also lacked exercise, the association makes sense. Unfortunately, this data was missing. “We still have much to learn about the mechanisms by which obesity and sedentary lifestyle may contribute to the risk of pancreatic cancer,?Dr. Wolpin said. “While it is too early to discuss IGFBP-1 as a suitable blood marker for pancreatic cancer, it is never too early to address the lifestyle issues that may contribute to low levels of IGFBP-1 and to an elevated risk of this difficult disease.?/span> |
