The Complex Interactions between Genetics and Environment: Diet, Inflammation and Intestinal Tumorigenesis
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: of ResearchColon cancer is a major health threat in the United States and many other developed countries, contributing to a majority of the cancer related deaths worldwide.Main influences associated with an increased risk of tumorigenesis in humans are the consumption of high fat, calorically dense diets, subsequent excess body fat and a collection of metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, high cholesterol that comprise metabolic syndrome (MetS).This becomes increasingly concerning as the prevalence of diet-induced obesity (DIO) and MetS continues to rise, even in children, despite the negative and often fatal health consequences associated with these diseases.Dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles continue to favor tumor development in many societies, yet the specific biological contributions that each makes to intestinal tumorigenesis remains unclear.Colon cancer is associated with deregulation of the inflammatory response, as increased cytokines and immune signals are elevated in patients suffering from colon tumorigenesis.This altered inflammatory process is also prevalent during high dietary fat consumption and in patients suffering from obesity or MetS.Because consumption of a high fat diet and diet-induced obesity (DIO) and related MetS are strongly correlated in humans, it is difficult to test the individual consequences that each contributes to colon cancer or understand how diet alone can influence cancer-promoting inflammation.Consumption of a high fat diet and DIO are two factors strongly associated with increased risk of developing colon cancer in humans and this close relationship makes it difficult to appreciate how diet, obesity or a combination of both effect initiation, growth
Author: Stephanie K. Doerner
Institution: Case Western Reserve University
Language: English
Topic: Cancer Risks and Factors
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2734301981