People with high bodies are at higher risk of getting cancer, why?

KOMPAS.com – One study found that the larger your height, the higher the risk of cancer.

The relationship between height and cancer risk is actually not new and has been investigated since the 1950s. But this idea was then re-examined by biologists of the evolution of cancer. 39, University of California, Riverside, Leonard Nunney.

The search was then published on Wednesday (24/10/2018) in the newspaper Acts of the Royal Society B This reveals that each additional 10 cm is badociated with an increased cancer risk of 10%.

The explanation is quite simple, tall people have more cells in their body.

"So the higher the number of cells, the higher the mutation rate and the greater the chance that a mutation will cause cancer," said Nunney.

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The cancer itself is the result of mutations in the monocellular DNA. One of the causes of these mutations occurs when body cells divide several times during life. Some mutations are harmless, but others can cause uncontrollable cleavages.

The results of this study are based on the badysis of data from four large-scale studies involving hundreds of thousands of cancer patients. Nunney studied 23 types of cancer in both men and women and found a strong correlation between the size and risk of 14 types of cancer.

The study found that, especially for thyroid and skin cancers, the relationship with height is more important than other types of cancer.

Even in this case, other variables play a role, such as gender and nationality. For example, large Korean women are more likely to get thyroid cancer than smaller women of other nationalities.

But for some cancers, including the pancreas, esophagus, stomach and mouth, researchers have not found an badociation between height and cancer risk.

"We can only speculate on the fact that the fourth cancer risk is not related to size.One could be linked to significant environmental influences.For example, oral cancer is badociated to alcohol consumption and smoking, "Nunney said.

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Meanwhile, the risk of skin cancer may be higher in people with high levels of IGF-1 growth hormone.

"Previous research has shown that tall people tended to have higher IGF-1 levels. In addition, some data show that a higher rate of IGF-1 to adult age results in faster cell division, "Nunney explained again.

Meanwhile, in the animal world, the size of one's body does not necessarily mean that he is more susceptible to cancer. Large species such as whales and elephants may indeed live longer than small animals. It's definitely an interesting thing to learn.

"It seems that the evolution of large animals has helped develop an additional layer of cancer prevention.If we find out how this extra layer works, we may be able to use it," Nunney concluded.