Body Fat Levels Closely Associated With Cancer Risk

If you weigh nearer the lighter end of your ideal weight range your risk of developing cancer is lower than if you weighed more, according to a new report published by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF). According to the WCRF, it is the most comprehensive report ever published which links weight, diet, physical activity and cancer risk.

The researchers searched through the databases of nine academic institutions worldwide, found half a million studies that took place since the 1960s, and selected the 7,000 most relevant ones.

The report, which included contributions from 21 of the world's most renowned scientists, includes 10 key recommendations. The WCRF says that the report contains the most authoritative advice that has ever been available - advice aimed at helping people reduce their risks of developing cancer. The World Health Organization and UNICEF were among the official observers while the report was underway.

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Cancer May Be Prevented By Controlling Organ Size

Scientists at Johns Hopkins recently discovered that a chemical chain reaction that controls organ size in animals ranging from insects to humans could mean the difference between normal growth and cancer. The study, published in the Sept. 21 issue of Cell, describes how organs can grow uncontrollably huge and become cancerous when this chain reaction is perturbed.

"This chain reaction, a domino-like chain of events we call the Hippo pathway, adds a single chemical group on a protein nicknamed Yap," says lead author Duojia Pan, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular biology and genetics. "The good news is that maybe all organ growth can be reduced to this one chemical event on the Yap protein -- but the better news is that we potentially have a new target for cancer therapy."

Pan and colleagues previously had discovered in fruit flies that too much Yap supercharges growth-inducing genes and causes organs to overgrow.

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