Experts Reach Consensus On Diabetes And Cancer Links
US experts who reviewed the emerging evidence on the links between cancer and diabetes have reported their findings in a consensus statement on the state of science linking both diseases and highlighted key questions that remain unanswered.
You can read the consensus report by experts representing the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society, in the 16 June online before print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians; the print version will appear in the July/August paper edition.
Some evidence suggests that people with diabetes are at a higher risk of developing many types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes and cancer share some risk factors as well as treatments; however, the underlying biology of this overlap is somewhat elusive.
This gap in understanding spurred the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society to bring together experts to address some key questions, for instance, what risk factors are common to both cancer and diabetes, is there a meaningful link between their incidence and prognosis, what might the underlying biological mechanisms be, and do treatments for diabetes affect cancer risk and prognosis?
The experts were asked to investigate each question, identify current gaps in evidence and suggest future strategies so researchers and epidemiologists can work toward closing the gaps. Read more
Cancers Hijack Body’s Defences To Grow And Spread
Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered how two genes can ‘hijack’ control of part of the body’s defences against cancer, helping them grow and spread. Their research was published in Developmental Cell(1) yesterday (Tuesday).
Part of the body’s defence system is controlled by a gene called Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) that can stop cancers from developing by killing them. But this same response has also been shown to help promote the growth of cancers.
For the first time, scientists at the Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute in Glasgow have shown how TNF turns to the ‘dark side’, helping some cancers to grow and move to new parts of the body. They found that the TNF response is hijacked by two genes linked to cancer.
The two genes are a tumour suppressor gene, that promotes tumour growth when deleted, and a tumour promoter gene that can turn cells cancerous when activated.
In their study, using fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), they found that cells which lack a tumour suppressor gene and turn cancerous are targeted and killed by the TNF controlled response. But, if the tumour promoter is also activated, cancer cells are not only able to escape the TNF’s death signal but also produce a signal to help them spread and grow. Read more