Large-sized people are at greater risk of cancer, study finds

(CNN) –
New research has suggested that tall people are at greater risk of cancer because they have more cells in their body.

The risk of developing cancer increases by 10% per 10 centimeters (4 inches) above the average, says the study because it has more cells that could mutate and lead to cancer.

The average height was set in the study as being 162 cm (5 feet, 4 inches) for women and 175 cm (5 feet, 9 inches) for men.

The findings are consistent with previous research, which also linked size with increased risk of developing various health problems. including blood clots, heart problems and diabetes.

Leonard Nunney, a professor of biology at the University of California Riverside, analyzed the previous data series on people with cancer, each with more than 10,000 cases, both men and women, and compared the numbers with anticipated rates. . on their height.

He tested the hypothesis that this was due to the number of cells compared to alternatives, such as the possible hormonal differences in tall people, which could lead to an increase in the rate of cell division.

A link was found between the total number of cells in a person and his likelihood of getting cancer in 18 of the 23 cancers tested, the study said.

The research also found that the increased risk is greater for women: taller women are 12% more likely to get cancer and larger men 9% more likely to do so. These results were consistent with Nunney's rates, based on her models, 13% for women and 11% for men.

Colon cancer, kidney cancer and lymphoma were among the cancer types for which the correlation was strongest.

"We have known for a long time that there is a link between cancer risk and height – the bigger a person, the higher the risk of cancer," said Georgina Hill of Cancer Research UK at CNN.

"What we do not have summer That's why. It's simply because a tall person has more cells in his body, or there is an indirect connection, for example between nutrition and childhood, "added Hill, who did not participate in the study.

She said that the study provides good evidence of the "direct effect" theory that the total number of cells is actually causing the link.

"The methodology is good – they took data from large studies, which is important, and they looked at many categories of cancers."

But she noted that the increased risk of developing cancer is small compared to the effects that lifestyle changes may have.

"It was a slightly higher risk and there were more important actions that people can take to make positive changes, [such as] stop smoking and maintain a healthy weight, "she said.

Two of the cancer types tested, thyroid cancer and melanoma, were found to be more susceptible to increased risk than expected, and Nunney suggested in the study that other factors might be at play in these cases, such as geography.

"There are no obvious reasons for these exceptions, although the author speculates that cell turnover rates could play for melanoma," CNN's Dorothy C. Bennett, director of the CNS, told CNN. Institute for Research in Molecular and Clinical Sciences, London.. Bennett, who did not participate in the study, explained that pigment cells, the source of melanoma, divide and are replaced a little more quickly in tall people.

"But I can not now think of any reason why this [faster division] should be so, but nor any other clear reason for the higher correlation with height, "said Bennett.

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