Sugar.Spanish researchers from the Rey Juan Carlos University have shown that excess sugars in the diet increases the activity of a protein called b-catenin, closely related to tumor progression. This explains why epidemiological data show that the frequency of certain types of cancer can be doubled in populations with high blood sugar levels, such as obese or diabetics.
InfectiousInfectious agents, such as viruses, bacteria and parasites, are the cause of two million cases of cancer worldwide, according to an international study published inThe Lancet Oncology. In other words, 16% of cancer cases worldwide in 2008 were due to an infection that could have been prevented or treated. The main infection-related cancers are those associated with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and the papilloma, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C viruses.
Ten instead of one.What we currently call breast cancer should be considered as ten different diseases, according to a groundbreaking British and Canadian study published in the journal Nature. The new classification, based on the genetic fingerprint of tumors, could improve treatment by allowing the drugs to be tailored to each case, increasing survival rates.
Caloric restriction.A sustained decrease in food intake over time results in an increase in the length of telomeres – the ends of chromosomes – in adult mice, which exerts a protective effect on DNA and genetic material. These beneficial effects on the youth of the chromosomes translate into a lower incidence of cancer, among other diseases associated with aging.
Cancer and electricity.Scientists at Tufts University have identified a bioelectrical signal that can identify which cells are at risk of becoming tumors. But they don’t just help predict: bioelectric signals are an important control mechanism for regulating how cells grow and multiply. So much so that scientists have shown that the incidence of cancer cells could be reduced by manipulating the cell membrane voltage. Or use these signals to repair damaged organs.
FriedEating fried potatoes, chicken or fish in batter and other deep-fried foods at least once a week is associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, in addition to predisposing to a more aggressive course of this disease, as researchers have just shown from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the United States.
Partners in crime.To invade organs, cancer cells often need accomplices. For example, a team of researchers from the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona) recently discovered that the ability of colon cancer to metastasize lies in the healthy cells that surround the tumor, the so-called stroma. In a paper released in Cancer Cell, the scientists also show that by removing the TGF-beta signal in the stroma, it is possible to block the initiation of metastasis.
