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Obesity-Linked Cancers: Current Knowledge, Challenges and Limitations in Mechanistic Studies and Rodent Models
Yang Xin Zi Xu1, Suresh Mishra2,3
1Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P4, Canada. xuyxzc@myumanitoba.ca.
Cancers
|December 21, 2018
Summary
Obesity is a growing global health crisis, increasing cancer risk and mortality. Current research models struggle to fully explain the complex link between obesity and over 13 cancer types.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Metabolic Diseases
- Cancer Research
Background:
- Global obesity rates have doubled in 50 years, projected to affect one-third of the world by 2025.
- Obesity is a chronic disease linked to metabolic, biomechanical, and psychosocial issues, rivaling smoking as a leading preventable cancer cause.
- Obesity increases cancer risk, aggressiveness, and mortality, with individuals experiencing worse prognoses compared to lean counterparts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review advances in understanding obesity-linked cancers.
- To discuss challenges and limitations in current preclinical rodent models for obesity-related cancer research.
- To offer perspectives on future research directions in this field.
Main Methods:
- Mini-review of existing literature on obesity-linked cancers.
- Analysis of mechanistic studies identifying common abnormalities in obesity.
- Evaluation of the suitability of current preclinical models in obesity-cancer research.
Main Results:
- Obesity is associated with ectopic fat storage, altered adipokines, hormone fluctuations, and meta-inflammation, contributing to cancer development.
- Existing mechanistic studies cannot fully explain how these factors lead to over 13 distinct cancer types.
- Current rodent models are insufficient for discerning confounders in obesity-related cancers and do not fully replicate human disease development.
Conclusions:
- A significant gap exists in understanding the precise mechanisms linking obesity to diverse cancer types.
- There is a critical need for improved preclinical models that accurately mimic human obesity-linked cancers.
- Future research should focus on developing better models to unravel the complexities of obesity's role in cancer.
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