Genetic Cancer Risks

The researchers used the Body Mass Index (BMI) categories to classify participants in the study. The study used a two part, multi-variable model, adjusted for age, gender, race, income, education level, and type of health insurance, marital and smoking status (Arterburn, Maciejewski & Tsevat). The results of the survey are as follows:

Every year, 1.2 million people are diagnosed with cancer and more than 500,000 people die from the disease. According to the National Cancer Institute, over 30% of these deaths can be attributed to diet. This means that the average person can greatly lower his risk of getting cancer simply by changing his diet. There is, of course, no guarantee against cancer, but the lifestyle choices that we make now can have a huge impact on our lives in the future. (http://www.aicr.org/expert1.htm)

Cancer is a genetic disease caused by certain changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide. Genes carry the instructions to make proteins, which do much of the work in our cells. Certain gene changes can cause cells to evade normal growth controls and become cancer. Genetic changes that promote cancer can be inherited from our parents if the changes are present in germ cells, which are the reproductive cells of the body (eggs and sperm). Such changes, called germline changes, are found in every cell of the offspring. In general, cancer cells have more genetic changes than normal cells. But each person’s cancer has a unique combination of genetic alterations.

John, E. M., Sangaramoorthy, M., Hines, L. M., Stern, M. C., Baumgartner, K. B., Giuliano, A. R., Slattery, M. L. (2015). Overall and abdominal adiposity and premenopausal breast cancer risk among Hispanic women: the breast cancer health disparities study. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 24(1), 138–147.

Smoking “remains the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality from cancer, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the United States”3 especially among Hispanic adults. According to the article “Alcohol consumption is an established cause of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, liver, colorectum, and female breast [cancers]”3. In the Hispanic/Latino populations “in some studies the prevalence of binge drinking (5 or more drinks per occasion) in Hispanics males is higher compared with non-Hispanic whites”3 so HIspanic males are more at risk of having certain types of cancer related to alcohol consumption as compared to other populations in the United States. Obesity is another risk factor that increases the incidence of cancer rates in the Hispanic/Latino population. Obesity is associated with breast, esophageal, colon, kidney, and pancreas cancer. Among adults “the obesity prevalence among Mexican women increased from 26.6% to 44% and in men from 15.7% to 36%”3. Since the rates of obesity are increasing, so are the number of incidences of cancer associated with

Adult obesity rates have rapidly increased since 1960, with at least one-third of the population classified as obese today. It is believed that 60-70% of the risk factors for developing obesity are genetic and are genes that are generally considered to dictate food intake. The environment also significantly affects an individual’s risk for obesity, and poverty level is a huge factor as well. Of the ten states with the highest obesity rates, nine of them among the nation’s poorest states.

A person’s genetic make up has a significant influence on whether the person will become obese or not. If both parents are obese, the likelihood that their children may end up being obese too is higher compared to a situation where neither of the parents is obese or where only one of the parents is obese. This is particularly so because genetics influence the way the body stores energy and how energy is used. This can be seen in the differences that have recorded in the basal metabolic rates (BMR) among groups of people who differ by age, gender and the make up of their bodies. People who have a low metabolic rate have a higher risk of becoming overweight. The genetic similarities shared by members of one family can explain why people who come form certain families end up being overweight (DeBruyne, Pinna

out that genetic factors are starting to be questioned in the degree of effectiveness of diet and

Mouw, T., Koster, A., Wright, M. E., Blank, M. M., Moore, S. C., Hollenbeck, A., & Schatzkin, A. (2008). Education and Risk of Cancer in a Large Cohort of Men and Women in the United States. Plos ONE, 3(11), 1.

The reasons for the rise of obesity in Americans today are the poor nutritional choices and the lack of physical activity in their everyday life. In this day in age, our generation is built around convenience. We are all after a quick fix, and that includes a drive-thru window at the local fast food restaurant on our way to and from work. Other causes of this health issue can be traced to a number of other factors including specific genetic traits that may convey metabolic predisposition, behavioral factors, and environmental circumstances. (Hindle, 2012) All of these shortcuts and contributing factors come at a cost. They have a long-term effect on your health.

Birt, D. F.; Pelling, J. C.; Nair, S., and Lepley, D. Diet intervention for modifying cancer risk. Prog Clin Biol Res. 1996; 395:223-34.

As we look into John’s – a 45 year old, 5’ 10”, 255lb male - dietary intake we see he has a classic southern American diet, where convenience foods, fried, loaded with starches, processed carbohydrates and lack vital nutrients. John finds himself eating out at fast food restaurants and loading up on cola drinks, which many people find themselves doing on a daily basis. Assuming he has a desk job that requires a lot of his attention throughout the day, John has little time to get in daily exercise and is required to hold attention for long periods of time. This is what is called a sedentary lifestyle and can lead to a number of health related illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and even cancer. John complains of feeling lethargic by lunch time and often tries to remedy this by drinking more caffeinated drinks to help with his tiredness, he also is unhappy with his current weight.

“There are many factors that correlate with obesity, although, there are three main causes. Calorie and nutrient intake, exercise and other physical activity and then genetic factors”. (Karnani,Mcferran,Mukhopadhyay, 9) Living an inactive and unhealthy lifestyle is what leads to obesity, but not only that medical problems can also play a major role. Genetics can also play a role in how your body converts food to energy and how calories are burned during physical activity. When someone says “obesity runs in my family” it is not just because genetics have a role but is because families have a tendency to have similar eating and lifestyle habits and when one or more family members are obese then the other members risk of obesity is increased.“Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have pointed out that the American diet is inconsistent with the Food Guide Pyramid” (Frazao E, Allshouse J,2003) and “The consumption of fat and sweets at the Pyramids tip far exceeds recommendations come parent with the low intake of fruits and leafy green vegetables” (Hojjat,

We apply the same procedure to generate other PGSs. Results from Locke et al. (2015) is used for BMI PGS, Horikoshi et al. (2016) for birthweight PGS, Taal et al. (2012) for head circumference, Tobacco and Genetics Consortium (2010) for cigarettes per day, and de Moor et al. (2012) for Big Five personality traits. The p-value for the SNPs included is 1 for all the PGSs. All the PGSs are standardized to feasible the interpretation of the results.

It is clear that obesity often tracks in families. Having obese relatives increases one's risk for obesity, even if the family members do not live together or shares the same patterns of exercise and food intake. Family studies and twin studies yield estimates of the fraction of the variation in the population that can be attributed to inherited variation or the heritability. Estimates of heritability range from 30 to 70%, with the typical estimate at 50%, meaning about one-half of the variation in body mass within a population is a result of inherited factors. A common