Link Between Obesity and Cancer Under Scrutiny

[Guest guest]

In an ongoing effort to better understand the link between obesity and

cancer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has refunded the initiative

known as the Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (TREC).

The $45 million, 5-year program also will study ways to prevent obesity,

particularly among children and cancer survivors.

The initiative's research projects range from the biologic and physiologic

mechanisms of obesity to the behavioral, sociocultural, and environmental

influences on nutrition, physical activity, and weight. The underlying theme

of all the research is the effort to understand the relation between

energetics (energy under transformation) and cancer, according to a press

statement from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle,

Washington, which will act as TREC's coordinating center.

" NCI is very concerned about the epidemic of obesity and its implications

for cancer, " said Croyle, PhD, director of NCI's division of cancer

control and population sciences, in a press statement. " This investment

reflects the urgency of the problem and the need to accelerate scientific

progress to inform cancer-control strategies. "

Obesity has been tied to the risk of either developing or dying from a

variety of cancers, such as those of the breast, colon, and esophagus, in

multiple studies, as reported by *Medscape Medical News*. The American

Cancer Society has reportedly estimated that about 30% of cancer deaths are

due to poor nutrition, excess weight, and lack of exercise.

The NCI launched the TREC initiative in 2005 with $54 million in initial

funding, $5.3 million of which went to the Hutchinson Center to establish

the coordinating hub.

TREC research will take place at 4 institutions in addition to the

Hutchinson Center: Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts; University

of California San Diego (UCSD); University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia;

and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

One of the hallmarks of the study is cooperative, multidisciplinary

research. " The idea behind TREC was to attack the problem of obesity and

cancer with teams of researchers from many scientific fields, such as

nutrition science, molecular epidemiology, and behavioral science, " said

Mark Thornquist, PhD, from the Hutchinson Center's public health sciences

division, in a press statement. Dr. Thornquist will act as principal

investigator of the initiative's coordinating center.

" By approaching the problem from many directions and collaborating across

studies, we hope to make scientific progress faster than more narrowly

focused research, " he further explained.

One of the studies will look at insulin resistance and inflammation

underlying the relation between energy balance and breast cancer, according

to Ruth , PhD, a professor in the UCSD Department of Family and

Preventive Medicine, and program leader of the cancer prevention and control

program at s Cancer Center at the university.

" Our study aims to uncover the mechanistic links between obesity and breast

cancer risk. If we understand the biological mechanisms linking obesity with

risk, then we have the potential to design lifestyle interventions or

identify drugs to reduce disease risk, " she said in a press statement.

www.medscape.com

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

*The FRUGAL Dietitian* <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

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