People who are considered obese may be at a higher risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a report published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
In order to better understand how obesity is linked to this type of cancer, researchers from the Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles fed mice with ALL a diet of high-fat foods. The team then split the animals into two groups, and continued the high-fat diet with one group and fed the rest of the mice a control diet.
The results of the trial showed that mice that were categorized as obese were more likely to suffer from cancer-related problems, especially in the older animals. Also, the investigators discovered that continuing to eat high-fat foods sped up the negative effects of ALL.
Steven D. Mittelman, lead author of the study, stated that “our findings are consistent with data that show a higher incidence of leukemia in obese adults and suggests that these observations are actually due to obesity.” He added that these results imply that “some hormone or factor in overweight individuals, perhaps produced by fat tissue itself, may signal leukemia cells to grow and divide.”
In 2006, more than 34,000 American were diagnosed with leukemia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.