WTF is up with cancer

[cohiba]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

Smoking aside, is it because of the food we're eating these days? I don't recall cancer being so rampant when I was growing up. Surely there must be some kinda environmental/external factor that's causing the increase?

The word 'cancer' covers a huge range of illnesses, so it's a bit hard to generalise, but cancers are usually polygenic & multifactorial - they are the result of the interplay of several genes and environmental factors. Your DNA undergoes a lot of damage every day, but we have evolved very efficient DNA repair & response systems that aim to repair this damage, or if that is not possible, to kill the cell. Mutations in the genes that control these systems often lead to a predisposition to certain types of cancer.

That said, diet does play an important role in the development and progression of several cancers. I'm just finishing up a big assignment on fatty acid intake (from beef & dairy products) and prostate cancer (which account for around 25% of all cancers in men - the most common cancer in men by a large margin).

[feather]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

Are fatty acids and prostate cancer related?

[cohiba]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

Unfortunately yes. It seems that high amounts of fatty acids are able to transform prostate cells (make them cancerous) and that the beta-oxidation of fatty acids is the dominant bioenergetic pathway in prostate cancer (meaning that they make use of fatty acids to provide the energy they need to rapidly grow & proliferate).

[DIDI]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

^^^^ Good posts !!

^Sorry to hear that Huggie. My worst nightmare having to tell my 2 little ones. Had to hav a whole bunch of tests last couple months for some health issues, found a couple spots on my liver and lung. Thank god it was nothing, but sad thing is not scary enough to quit tobacco. To all those fighting it you courage and strength is amazing. That Jimmy V speech from the espy's years ago makes me cry everytime I hear it.

I feel like getting down on my knees and begging people to stop smoking when I read something like this.

Nicotine is such a nasty addictive drug !! A women I know took it up again after she had a mastectomy . !!! It took me years to give it up, and both my parents died of lung cancer.!! I just kept trying everything until I found a way to stop, Smokenders, can't recommend them highly enough!! It's years since I smoked now and don't get any cravings at all.

Good on you Adzey!! I must say although I know a few people who have had cancer in the last few years, none have died and a couple have been clear for a long time. But I know the fight has been very hard.


Huggie, very sad about your friend

[feather]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

Unfortunately yes. It seems that high amounts of fatty acids are able to transform prostate cells (make them cancerous) and that the beta-oxidation of fatty acids is the dominant bioenergetic pathway in prostate cancer (meaning that they make use of fatty acids to provide the energy they need to rapidly grow & proliferate).

Great ... just when I'm trying out a keto diet.

[cohiba]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

Don't worry too much, we're probably talking about people who red meat every night of the week for years and years.

[Localizer]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

Unfortunately yes. It seems that high amounts of fatty acids are able to transform prostate cells (make them cancerous) and that the beta-oxidation of fatty acids is the dominant bioenergetic pathway in prostate cancer (meaning that they make use of fatty acids to provide the energy they need to rapidly grow & proliferate).

nm, red that it is high amounts of FA.

[minneec]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

The word 'cancer' covers a huge range of illnesses, so it's a bit hard to generalise, but cancers are usually polygenic & multifactorial - they are the result of the interplay of several genes and environmental factors. Your DNA undergoes a lot of damage every day, but we have evolved very efficient DNA repair & response systems that aim to repair this damage, or if that is not possible, to kill the cell. Mutations in the genes that control these systems often lead to a predisposition to certain types of cancer.

That said, diet does play an important role in the development and progression of several cancers. I'm just finishing up a big assignment on fatty acid intake (from beef & dairy products) and prostate cancer (which account for around 25% of all cancers in men - the most common cancer in men by a large margin).

It's true what you wrote about the genetic and environmental factors coming into play with cancer. A change in the diet habits of the Japanese from rice based diets t more Western style dining seems to have shifted the type of cancers they were seeing from oronasal to primary GI. But i think the main reason we're seeing so much of it is because modern medicine has progressed so far and the number one killer is no longer diarrhea and severe dehydration from some GI bug. Because of that, the probability of cell signaling gone awry to have those 5 mutations that are irreversible and therefore able to grow a malignant tumor is higher.
I do know from friends who are directly on the clinic floor that it seems there's a higher incidence of younger people cropping up with cancers. or it may just stick out to the mind more because they are so young.

As for the fatty acid issue, are they just seeing a correlation between high amounts of FA in the body and prostate cancer or is there some pathway people are working out? Are you thinking about the omega3:6 stuff, which would be a different pathway from beta oxidation? I saw one article from my quick search that talked about FA synthase, but that wouldn't necessarily be dietary in nature. It'd be the nature of the cancer cells preferring to use and make fatty acids. And for some reason the flow of articles stopped in early 2000. I guess I would just be hesitant to state that diet plays a big role is my main point.

[cohiba]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

As for the fatty acid issue, are they just seeing a correlation between high amounts of FA in the body and prostate cancer or is there some pathway people are working out? Are you thinking about the omega3:6 stuff, which would be a different pathway from beta oxidation? I saw one article from my quick search that talked about FA synthase, but that wouldn't necessarily be dietary in nature. It'd be the nature of the cancer cells preferring to use and make fatty acids. And for some reason the flow of articles stopped in early 2000. I guess I would just be hesitant to state that diet plays a big role is my main point.

A bit busy, so have to reply quickly sorry - one current hypothesis is that branched chain fatty acids (eg phytanic, pristanic acids) can upregulate enzymes involved in peroxisomal beta oxidation, leading to increased ROS production which can contribute to transformation of the cells. High levels of fatty acids can also disrupt ER homeostasis, and one area of current research is why this seems to cause pancreatic beta cell death in type 2 diabetes, but proliferation of prostate cells.

If you want to read a bit more about it, here are the papers & text books I used:
* Eizirik DL, Cardozo AK, Cnop M (200. The role for endoplasmic reticulum stress in diabetes mellitus. Endocrine Reviews. 29: 42-61.
* Gaggelli E, Kozlowski H, Valensin D, Valensin G (2006). Copper homeostasis and neurodegenerative disorders. Chemical Reviews. 106: 1995-2044.
* Lin JF, Xu J, Tian HY, Gao X, Chen QX, Gu Q, Xu GJ, Son JA, Zhao FK (2007). Identification of candidate prostate cancer biomarkers in prostate needle biopsy specimens using proteomic analysis. International Journal of Cancer. 121: 2596-2605.
* Liu Y (2006). Fatty acid oxidation is a dominant bioenergetic pathway in prostate cancer. Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases. 9: 230-234.
* Luo J, Zha S, Gage WR, Dunn TA, Hicks JL, Bennet CJ, Ewing CM, Platz EA, Ferdinandusse S, Wanders RJ, Trent JM, Isaacs WB (2002). α-methylacyl-CoA racemase: a new molecular marker for prostate cancer. Cancer Research. 62: 2220-2226.
* Mera P, Bentebibel A, Lopez-Vinas E, Cordente AG (2009). C75 is converted to C75-CoA in the hypothalamus where it inhibits CPTI and decreases food intake and body weight. Biochemical Pharmacology. 77: 1084-1095.
* Mobley JA, Leav I, Zielie P, Wotkowitz C, Evans J, Lam YW, L’Esperance BS, Jiang Z, Ho SM (2003). Branched chain fatty acids in dairy and beef products markedly enhance α-methylacyl-CoA racemase expression in prostate cancer cells in vitro. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. 12: 775-783.
* Nelson DL, Cox MM (200. Fatty Acid Catabolism; Protein Metabolism In: Principles of Biochemistry 5th Edition. Freeman Press pp 647-667; 1107-1109.
* Pratt CW, Cornely K (2004). Lipid Metabolism. In: Essential Biochemistry. Wiley Press, pp 431-440.
* Scheuner D, Kaufman RJ (200. The unfolded protein response: a pathway that links insulin demand with β-cell failure and diabetes. Endocrine Reviews. 29: 317-333.
* Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis M, Borthakur G, Burns JL, Bowen PE (200. Correlations of dietary patterns with prostate health. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. 52: 114-130.
* Sung Lee J, Orita H, Gabrielson K, Alvey S (2007). FDG-PET for pharmacodynamic assessment of the fatty acid synthase inhibitor C75 in an experimental model of lung cancer. Pharmaceutical Research. 24: 1202-1207.
* Whittemore AS, Kolonel LN, Wu AH, John EM, Gallagher RP, Howe GR, Burch JD, Hankin J, Dreon DM, West DW, Teh CZ, Paffenbarger RS (1995). Prostate cancer in relation to diet, physical activity, and body size in blacks, whites, and asians in the United States, and Canada. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 87: 652-661.
* Voet D, Voet JG, Pratt CW (2006). Lipid Metabolism. In: Fundamentals of Biochemistry 2nd Edition. Wiley Press, pp 636-650.
* Zha S, Ferdinandusse S, Hicks JL, Denis S, Dunn TA, Wanders RJ, Luo J, De Marzo AM, Isaacs WB (2005). Peroxisomal branched chain fatty acid β-oxidation is upregulated in prostate cancer. The Prostate. 63: 316-323.

[Localizer]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

As for the fatty acid issue, are they just seeing a correlation between high amounts of FA in the body and prostate cancer or is there some pathway people are working out? Are you thinking about the omega3:6 stuff, which would be a different pathway from beta oxidation? I saw one article from my quick search that talked about FA synthase, but that wouldn't necessarily be dietary in nature. It'd be the nature of the cancer cells preferring to use and make fatty acids. And for some reason the flow of articles stopped in early 2000. I guess I would just be hesitant to state that diet plays a big role is my main point.

B-oxidation is a major pathway, moreso in the starving state. Though you have a respiratory quotient that shows that it's a high O2 demand pathway (.7 for B-oxidation pathway, 1 for glycolytic pathway), you yield 129 ATP via Palmitoyl-CoA, so it's a favorable pathway to produce energy and thus why you may see it being used in breast/ovarian cancer.

FA synthase would be for the use of building up FA, not breaking them down, so that wouldn't necessarily be favorable unless prostate cells have the ability to store significant amounts of FA in the form of TAGs and then break them back down to be used for B-oxidation (i'm assuming the majority of FA are coming from adipose tissue).

What's interesting is the O2 requirement and the focal hypoxia cancer creates in tissues. Since B-oxidation has a resp quotient of .7 and glycolysis at 1, I would suspect that once angiogenesis has occurred, there may be a switch from using the glycolytic pathway to using b-oxidation once there is a sufficient supply of oxygen to the cancerous mass in certain areas of the body. And if there is a high intake of FA in the diet, then it's very plausible that this pathway could be abused by cancer.

[Jenks]

Re: WTF is up with cancer

look at the big brains in this thread! whoa!