Looking for the link between cancer and obesity

The Hutchinson Center, already one of the world’s leaders in diet and cancer risk studies, has received more than $8 million to extend its role as the coordinating hub of a nationwide research consortium that aims to better understand the link between obesity and cancer.

The five-year initiative will also study the underlying behavioral causes of obesity and ways to prevent it, particularly among children, cancer survivors and others at high risk.

“The idea (is) to attack the problem of obesity and cancer with teams of researchers from many scientific fields, such as nutrition science, molecular epidemiology and behavioral science,” said Dr. Mark Thornquist, principal investigator of the initiative’s coordinating center. “By approaching the problem
from many directions and collaborating across studies, we hope to make scientific progress faster than more narrowly focused research. The coordinating center helps to tie all of these researchers together and enables us to collaborate more effectively,” he said.

The National Cancer Institute “is very concerned about the epidemic of obesity and its implications for cancer,” said Dr. Robert Croyle, director of the NCI’s division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. “This investment reflects the urgency of the problem and the need to accelerate scientific progress to inform cancer-control strategies.”

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 30 percent of cancer deaths are due to poor nutrition, excess weight and lack of exercise.

“This consortium will aim to understand the link between cancer and obesity at a fundamental, biologic level,” Thornquist said.