Diet, insulin-like growth factor-1 and cancer risk

[摘要] Despite extensive research it has proved difficult to establish the role of dietin the aetiology of common types of cancer. Obesity and alcohol definitelyincrease the risk for several types of cancer, but the importance of particularfoods and nutrients is not clear. Part of the difficulty is our poorunderstanding of the physiological changes that might mediate the effect of dieton cancer risk. Recent research in prospective studies with biobanks of storedblood samples has shown that the serum concentration of insulin-like growthfactor-1 (IGF-1) is positively associated with the risk for both breast cancerin women and prostate cancer in men. It is also known that circulating IGF-1concentrations can change in response to nutritional changes including energyand protein restriction, and some studies suggest that, even withinwell-nourished western populations, men and women with relatively high intakesof protein from dairy products have higher blood levels of IGF-1. Theseobservations have led to the hypothesis that high intakes of protein from dairyproducts might increase the risk for some cancers by increasing the endogenousproduction of IGF-1. Further evaluation of this hypothesis requires clinicalnutritional studies of the effects of diet on IGF-1 metabolism, and largeepidemiological studies of cancer risk incorporating reliable measures of dietand serum IGF-1 concentrations.

[学科分类] 卫生学

[关键词] Cancer;Diet;Insulin-like growth factor-1