Turns out that a fat stomach is a breeding ground for the spread of ovarian cancer, according to a report in Nature Medicine, published yesterday. A large pad of fat across the stomach, covering the intestines, apparently nourishes the growth of ovarian cancer.
Ovarian cancer, the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in women, tends to spread within the abdominal cavity rather than to distant organs. By the time this cancer is diagnosed, it has already spread to these fat cells in a majority of women, causing growth beyond the original ovarian cancer.
"This fatty tissue, which is extraordinarily rich in energy-dense lipids, acts as a launching pad and energy source for the likely lethal spread of ovarian cancer," said Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago and primary researcher. "The cells that make up the [fatty tissue] contain the biological equivalent of jet fuel. They feed the cancer cells, enabling them to multiply rapidly. Gaining a better understanding of this process could help us learn how to disrupt it."
Ovarian cancer cells spread quickly to the fatty tissue, called the omentum, where they thrive on lipids from the fat cell. Animal studies showed the cells moving to the omentum within 20 minutes, attracted by protein signals from the fat. Inhibitors reduced the signals by at least 50 percent, and these will be the focus of future research.
Researchers note that this mechanism may contribute to cancer development in other parts of the body where fat cells are abundant, such as breast cancer.
This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Committee on Cancer Biology at the University of Chicago and Bears Care, the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears Football Club.
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