Image

A fat-laden dietcan quicken the onset of pancreatic cancer in humans, reveals a new study.

Published on 29 June, 2012
A fat-laden dietcan quicken the onset of pancreatic cancer in humans, reveals a new study.

Earlier studies on human have proved that a linkexists between high fat diet, obesity and an increased risk of developingpancreatic cancer, but the mechanism that leads to this development was notproperly understood.

 Guido Eibl, who worksas an associate professor of surgery at UCLA's David Geffen School and hiscolleagues carried out experiments to test the hypothesis that diet has a linkto cancer.

 They selected mice witha mutation in the KRAS (a gene that predisposes them to develop pancreaticpre-cancer) and fed one group with low fat diet and another group with highcalorie and high fat corn oil based food.

 It was observed that 90 percent of the mice thatwere fed with the special high fat diet became obese, developed insulinresistance, inflammations and precancerous lesions in the pancreatic cells, incomparison to the mutated mice fed on normal diet. All these were prerequisitesfor the development of cancer.

 "Ourresults showed that in mice, a diet high in fat and calories led to obesity andmetabolic disturbances such as insulin resistance thatare seen in obese humans", states Guido Eibl..

 Eibl also says, "the high-fat, high-calorie diet acceleratedpancreatic cancer development. A KRAS mutation in the pancreas might not be sufficientto cause an individual to develop pancreatic cancer. It likely needs somethingin addition - a secondary hit. Our study showed that a high-fat, high-caloriediet could provide an environmental secondary hit and trigger cancerdevelopment."

 It must be noted thatthe mutated version of KRAS is involved in the development of pancreatic cancerin humans as well. A low fat, low calorie diet maywell prevent the development of pancreatic cancer and several other types ofcancer.

The results of this study were presented at theAmerican Association for Cancer Research`s conference `Pancreatic Cancer:Progress and Challenges` organized on June 18-21.

Pancreatic Cancer

 Pancreas is an organ that is situatedbehind the stomach at the back of the abdomen. It contains both the exocrineand the endocrine glands. The endocrine cells are found in clusters and areknown as the islet of Langerhans. These cells release insulin and play a veryimportant role in controlling blood sugar levels. When the islets of langerhansdo not function properly, it results in diabetes.

 Cancer of the pancreas occurs when thepancreatic cells divide uncontrollably and give rise to tumors. Tumors thataffect the exocrine glands in the pancreas are the most common and are known asadenocarcinomas.

 There are several factorsthat increase one's risk for pancreatic cancer. They include a person's familyhistory, lifestyle trends and habits.

References:

1. Zeenews.india.com

2. www.medicaldaily.com

3. http:www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/pancreatic-cancer/

Join WhatsApp News
മലയാളത്തില്‍ ടൈപ്പ് ചെയ്യാന്‍ ഇവിടെ ക്ലിക്ക് ചെയ്യുക