Association between childhood adiposity and gynaecologic cancers: a mendelian randomisation analysis
Obesity is a major health problem throughout the developed world. Previous studies have shown increased risks of cancer associated with obesity and being obese means worse survival for those affected.
Determining the level of risk is difficult because of multiple other factors which may mask the effect. This study using the UK genome-wide association study data, sought to determine the association between obesity for girls aged 10 or less with later development of gynaecological cancers of the ovary, endometrium, and cervix. This was achieved by a process known as mendelian randomisation which seeks to use genetic information in a non-biased randomised way, like an RCT.
Findings from the data showed increased risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer but not for cervical cancer. The latter finding is not surprising in that cervical cancer has been shown to be strongly associated with human papilloma virus infection.
The risk of developing ovarian cancer was increased by about 20% for those women who had been obese at the age of 10 or younger. It remains uncertain as to why this is so. However, childhood obesity is associated with early puberty and more lifetime menstrual cycles. Also, obesity causes inflammation. Both these factors are known to increase ovarian cancer risk.
No comments:
Post a Comment