A national report on cancer has revealed both good and bad news concerning the disease.
A national report on cancer cases has revealed that types of the disease associated with obesity are on the rise. The new report, published yesterday, April 21, showed some interesting trends in which cancers are decreasing, and others which are worryingly rising in the UK.
Several cancers related to obesity were shown to be surging in the UK, including female breast, uterus, colon and rectum, pancreas, kidney, and liver cancers. The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer was published in the journal Cancer, and it revealed both good and bad news concerning the disease.
While cancers that are linked to obesity were shown to be on the up, deaths from smoking-related cancers are shown to be decreasing. And that’s not the only good news from the new report, as overall cancer deaths have also seen a decline.
The research was based on cancer incidence data from population-based cancer registries over the period of 2001 to 2022. The report deduced that progress in reducing cancer deaths overall is due to declines in both cases of and deaths of lung cancer and several other smoking-related cancers.
New diagnoses and deaths from lung cancer have declined in both men and women over the past 20 years. But the incidence of cancers associated with obesity has been rising.
It was also revealed that new diagnoses of breast cancer gradually increased over the study period, yet the overall breast cancer death rate decreased.
But how can obesity cause cancer? Cancer Research UK explains how obesity can increase cancer risk on its website.
It says: “Extra fat in the body doesn’t just sit there, it’s active and sends out signals to the rest of your body. These signals can tell cells in our body to divide more often, which can lead to cancer.”
They shared several ways that obesity can affect the body and subsequently cause cancerous cells to grow.
These included:
- Growth hormones – too much body fat can cause levels of growth hormones to rise, which tells cells to divide more often. This raises the chance that cancer cells will develop.
- Inflammation – immune cells go to areas of the body where there are lots of fat cells. This can lead to inflammation, which causes cells to divide quicker. Over time, this can increase the risk of cancer.
- Sex hormones – after the menopause, fat cells produce the hormone oestrogen. This hormone can make cells in the breast and womb divide more often, which increases the risk of cancer developing.
Cancer Research says: “There is lots of high-quality research showing the link between excess weight and cancer. This research has been going on for decades and has involved millions of people.
“We can be sure that obesity causes cancer because the risk increases the more weight is gained and the longer it is held for. There are also good explanations for how fat cells can cause cancer to develop.”
Cancer Research shared 13 different types of cancer that can be caused by obesity.
These included:
- Breast and bowel (two of the most common cancer types)
- Pancreatic, oesophageal and gallbladder (three of the hardest to treat cancers)
- Womb and ovarian
- Kidney, liver and upper stomach
- Myeloma (a type of blood cancer)
- Meningioma (a type of brain tumour)
- Thyroid
The cancer experts stress that just because obesity can cause cancer, this doesn’t mean that everybody who is overweight will develop the disease. But the risk is higher for people who are overweight or obese.
Eating a balanced diet and regularly exercising are important to maintain a healthy weight and decrease your risk of developing obesity-related cancers.
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