Breast cancer remains the leading killer of women, and new research says eating restriction during pregnancy may increase the risk of breast cancer in offspring.
When it comes to reducing cancer risk, we all know what to do, right? Wear sunscreen, quit smoking, try to avoid processed foods, stay healthy, lose weight, and get enough sleep.
But what if most of the factors that cause cancer occur early in our lives, or worse, before we are born?
That may be the case, especially in people who develop cancer before age 50 (early-onset cancer), says a recent study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University.
One of the most important findings of the study, published in Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, was that people born following 1990 — compared to people born in 1970, for example — were more likely to have Cancer before age 50. This means that young people will be burdened with a higher burden of cancer than generations before them, with knock-on effects on health care, the economy and families.
What we are exposed to early in life may affect our risk of developing cancer later in life. Research into this cancer trend looks at how these factors affect early-onset cancer. As for what is more important to be exposed to early in life, although it is not fully understood, it mainly includes diet, lifestyle, environment, and the microbial bacteria that live in our guts (microbiome, also known as gut flora, microbiome).
When researchers looked at large populations, they found that eating habits and lifestyles were formed early in life. Obese, for example, and obese children are more likely to grow up to become obese adults. While obesity is a known risk factor for cancer, those (obese) adults may develop cancer at an earlier age, possibly due to their longer exposure to risk factors.
Certainly, some early-onset cancers are detected because of better screening and early diagnosis, which drives up the number of cancer cases diagnosed each year around the world. But that’s not the whole story.
Early-onset cancers have different genetic profiles than late-onset cancers and are also more likely to have spread than cancers diagnosed later in life. This means that these cancers may require different treatments, one that is personalized to the age of the patient at the time of the cancer’s onset.
Our diet and gut microbiota also influence cancer risk, especially several types of gut-related cancers.
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital study looked at 14 types of cancer and found that the genetic makeup, aggressiveness (how easy it is to spread) and growth rate of the cancers were significantly different between those who had the same type of cancer before and following age 50. Different.
This appears to be more prominent in several types of bowel cancer (colorectal or colorectal, pancreatic and gastric). One possible reason is that it has something to do with our diet and gut flora.
A high-sugar diet, antibiotics, and breastfeeding can all alter gut bacteria. The social patterns of these factors, which change over time, are also reflected in the bacteria in our guts. This also supports the WorldHealth Organization’s proposal to levy a sugar tax from the side.
If healthy cells are formed while we are still in our mother’s womb, then so may the cells that later cause cancer.
Pregnant women’s diet, obesity and environmental factors such as air pollution and pesticides are known to increase the risk of chronic disease and cancer.
Conversely, severely restricted food intake during pregnancy, such as due to famine, increases the risk of breast cancer in offspring.
The two findings will have different implications for society’s efforts to reduce cancer risk.
As a hematologist, I care for patients with multiple myeloma. This is an incurable blood cancer that usually affects patients over the age of 70. But in recent years, more and more young people around the world have been diagnosed with this cancer, which might be explained by better screening, but this is only part of the reason.
The study also listed obesity as an important risk factor for early-onset disease, but clearly, there are other risk factors that have yet to be identified.
Understanding the causes of early-onset cancer, what external elements really matter, and what preventive measures can be taken is the first step in developing prevention strategies for future generations.
Note: The author of this article, Siobhan Glavey, is Professor of Pathology at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland (formerly RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences). The original text was published on the Creative Commons website “The Conversation” (The Conversation)superior.
