Obesity modulation - the role in carcinogenesis

Obesity has been recognized as an important risk factor for many serious medical conditions. The association of obesity with an increased risk of many cancers is of enormous economic importance to the health industry.The metabolic syndrome and visceral obesity have an increasing prevelance and incidence in the general population.The actual prevelance of the metabolic syndrome is 24% in US population and between 24,6% and 30.9% in Europe. Recent evidence from epidemiologic and basic research studies, as well as clinical and intervention studies, supports the emerging hypothesis that metabolic syndrome may be an important etiologic factor for the onset of cancer. In addition, increased body weight has recently been shown to be associated with an increased risk of cancers at multiple specific sites. The close interaction between cancer cells and adipocytes is an intriguing issue in tumor biology. In nowdays, several metabolic markers are implicated in the development and progression of several malignancies. This review describes the emerging data concerning the role of metabolic markes in tumor cell growth and relates them to their future clinical prospects.