A new study suggests that being overweight can significantly increase women’s risk of developing womb cancer. This research, funded by The Cancer Research UK (CRUK), involved 120,000 women in the UK, the US, and five other countries.
While genes and hormones play a part, maintaining a healthy weight can remove the risk of developing 13 different cancers, the research said.
From the study, fat cells send signals to other cells to divide, which sharply increases the risk of developing cancers.
The research focused on the history of weight gain and discovered that two hormones, fasting insulin and testosterone, are linked with obesity and womb cancer.
Furthermore, one of the most common symptoms of womb cancer is vaginal bleeding.
Researchers are excited about this discovery as they hope to develop medication that will readjust these hormone levels and also reduce cancer risk in women.
“This study is an interesting first step into how genetic analyses could be used to uncover exactly how obesity causes cancer and what can be done to tackle it.” said Lead investigator Dr Emma Hazelwood.
CRUK health information head Dr Julie Sharp said: “Studies like this bolster the fact that being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer in the UK and can help us start to pinpoint why.
“This will play a pivotal role in uncovering how to prevent and treat cancer in the future.”
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