Why being overweight raises the risk of cancer
OBESITY is linked to a raised risk of cancer, and now U.S. scientists think they know why.
In a study on mice, researchers at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in California found that a lack of a protein called p62 in fat cells was linked to significant growth of aggressive prostate cancer cells. It’s thought this protein is involved in metabolism in fat tissue.
Lack of p62 means there are more nutrients to feed cancer cells.
Writing in the journal Cancer Ce l l , the researchers say this knowledge will lead to better treatments.