Diet-induced obesity accelerates leukemia, study shows

"Given the high prevalence of obesity in our society, we felt it was critical to determine if obesity actually caused the increased incidence of leukemia and not some other associated exposure," explains Steven D. Mittelman, MD, PhD, a pediatric endocrinologist who led the study.

Dr. Mittelman and his colleagues used a high-fat diet to induce obesity in two mouse models of ALL. Mice were randomized to a high-fat or a control diet. The investigators found that obesity increased the risk of ALL in both models, particularly in older mice. This observation was consistent with the type of cumulative effect seen with other exposure-related cancers, such as lung cancer related to smoking and breast cancer resulting from increased estrogen exposure. Observing the difference in older animals also agreed with the other obesity-related effects from cumulative exposure such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis.

"Our findings are consistent with epidemiological data that show a higher incidence of leukemia in obese adults and suggests that these observations are actually due to obesity, and not some associated genetic, socio-economic, or lifestyle factor," concluded Dr. Mittelman, who is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Physiology & Biophysics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. "These data imply that some hormone or factor in overweight individuals, perhaps produced by fat tissue itself, may signal leukemia cells to grow and divide. Since leukemia is the most common type of childhood cancer, understanding how obesity may increase its incidence could have important public health implications."

Co-authors of the study included Jason P. Yun, James W. Behan, Nora Heisterkamp, PhD, Anna Butturini, MD, Lars Klemm, John Groffen, PhD, Lingyun Ji, and Markus Muschen, MD, PhD, all of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Cancer Institute, and the Children's Cancer Research Fund (a California non-profit organization).