Weight loss might reduce cancer risk: Study

Overweight and obese women who lose weight may lower their odds of developing cancer as their levels of cancer-linked proteins drop, a new study suggests.
These proteins -- VEGF, PAI-1 and PEDF -- promote the growth of blood vessels, a process that is necessary to help tumors thrive. The more weight the women lost, the greater the drop in the levels of these proteins, the researchers found.
"It's another piece of evidence in the jigsaw of the benefits of losing weight, and how important weight loss is to prevent cancer," said lead researcher Catherine Duggan. She is a principal staff scientist in the public health sciences division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
In general, losing weight reduces the risk of breast, colon and prostate cancer by as much as 20 percent, she said. This might be due to a reduction in inflammatory factors stored in fat as well as a drop in levels of these proteins, Duggan suggested. These proteins increase with weight, she explained. "As people gain weight, new blood vessels are required to bring oxygen and nutrients to the stored fat," she said. The same process happens in men. Whether these proteins cause cancer isn't clear, and the study did not prove that, but they might make the environment favorable for tumors to start growing, Duggan said.
"We can't say these factors cause cancer, but we do think that these factors may make tumors grow. So if you reduce them, these dormant cancer tumors might not make the switch and start to grow, but we can't say for sure," she said.
For the study, Duggan and her colleagues randomly assigned 439 overweight and obese postmenopausal women, aged 50 to 75, to one of four groups. The groups included: a calorie-restricted diet of no more than 2,000 calories a day; an aerobic exercise program of 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise five days a week; a combination of diet and exercise; or no diet or exercise.

HealthDay

Weight loss might reduce cancer risk: Study

Overweight and obese women who lose weight may lower their odds of developing cancer as their levels of cancer-linked proteins drop, a new study suggests. These proteins -- VEGF, PAI-1 and PEDF -- promote the growth of blood vessels, a process that is necessary to help tumors thrive. The more weight the women lost, the greater the drop in the levels of these proteins, the researchers found. Its another piece of evidence in the jigsaw of the benefits of losing weight, and how important weight loss is to prevent cancer, said lead researcher Catherine Duggan. She is a principal staff scientist in the public health sciences division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. In general, losing weight reduces the risk of breast, colon and prostate cancer by as much as 20 percent, she said. This might be due to a reduction in inflammatory factors stored in fat as well as a drop in levels of these proteins, Duggan suggested. These proteins increase with weight, she explained. As people gain weight, new blood vessels are required to bring oxygen and nutrients to the stored fat, she said. The same process happens in men. Whether these proteins cause cancer isnt clear, and the study did not prove that, but they might make the environment favorable for tumors to start growing, Duggan said. We cant say these factors cause cancer, but we do think that these factors may make tumors grow. So if you reduce them, these dormant cancer tumors might not make the switch and start to grow, but we cant say for sure, she said. For the study, Duggan and her colleagues randomly assigned 439 overweight and obese postmenopausal women, aged 50 to 75, to one of four groups. The groups included: a calorie-restricted diet of no more than 2,000 calories a day; an aerobic exercise program of 45 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise five days a week; a combination of diet and exercise; or no diet or exercise. HealthDay