Researchers from all over the world believe that obesity could be a risk aspect for colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the third most form of diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, revealed the American Cancer Society.
A team of researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found that high blood sugar level occurred because of weight gain could be responsible for higher risk of colorectal cancer. For their analysis they examined the statistics of women who participated in the National Institutes of Health’s landmark Women’s Health Initiative study.
The blood sugar levels of all study participants were measured at the start of the study and at regular intervals over the next twelve years. At the end of the study more than eighty women had developed colon cancer. Researchers found that increased levels of baseline glucose were linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer.
Women having the highest third levels of baseline glucose were likely to develop colorectal cancer by double as women in the lowest third of blood glucose levels. The outcomes remained same when researchers investigate repetitive glucose measurements over time. They found no link between insulin levels and risk for colorectal cancer.
Obesity is usually escorted by increased blood levels of insulin and glucose is a recognized risk factor for colorectal cancer. It has long alleged that influence of obesity on risk of colorectal cancer stems from the increased levels of insulin it causes. However, the Einstein team suggests that impact of obesity on colon cancer occurred due to increased glucose levels.
According to lead author Geoffrey Kabat, a senior epidemiologist at Einstein, the next challenge is to uncover the mechanism by which chronically elevated blood glucose levels may escort to colorectal cancer. It is likely that increased glucose levels are associated with increased blood levels of growth factors and inflammatory aspects that spur the growth of intestinal polyps, some of which later develop into cancer.
The study findings were published in the British Journal of Cancer by the name of A Longitudinal Study of Serum Insulin and Glucose Levels in Relation to Colorectal Cancer Risk among Postmenopausal Women.