减肥可降低癌症风险
2016年7月15日,美国癌症研究学会官方期刊《癌症研究》第76卷第14期发表美国弗雷德·哈钦森癌症研究中心的研究报告,发现超重或肥胖女性通过饮食和运动减肥,可使她们血液中某些在血管生成(血管生长的过程,可促进癌细胞的生长和生存)中发挥作用的蛋白质(VEGF、PAI-1、PEDF)水平有所下降。
血管生成是一个重要的功能,在该过程中形成新的血管,例如,在创伤愈合过程中。不幸的是,肿瘤生长和发展的一个重要组成部分,也依赖于有一个血管供应来提供营养物质和氧气,让肿瘤继续增长。通过阻止血管生成,抑制肿瘤细胞的生长,可能是健康人预防癌症的一种重要策略,但阻断该过程的药物有潜在不利影响,从而阻碍了其在癌症预防中的应用。
该研究将439位年龄50~75岁、超重/肥胖、健康、久坐不动的绝经后女性随机分配到4个小组:限制热量饮食组,热量摄入限制到每天不超过2000kcal,包括不超过30%的脂肪热量;有氧运动组,每周5天进行45分钟的中度至强度运动;饮食+运动组;对照组(不进行干预)。每个月初和月末进行血液样本收集,持续12个月。在12个月后测量运动和饮食对血管生成相关蛋白质(VEGF、PAI-1、PEDF)的循环水平有何影响。
结果发现,根据体重指数、年龄和种族/民族校正数据后,经过12个月干预,饮食组、运动组和饮食+运动组中的女性平均体重分别下降了8.5%、2.4%和10.8%,这显著高于对照组女性的平均体重减轻(0.8%)。
12个月后,与对照组的女性相比,在饮食组和饮食+运动组中的女性,血管生成相关蛋白质(VEGF、PAI-1、PEDF)水平显著较低,但是在那些运动组的女性当中,该影响不显著。该研究还观察到减少的线性趋势,表明女性体重减轻越多,其血液中血管生成相关蛋白质(VEGF、PAI-1、PEDF)水平的降低就越大。
超重和久坐不动的生活方式,可增加某些癌症的患病风险,然而确切原因不明。该研究探讨的是,当参与本研究的超重、久坐不动、绝经后女性在一年的过程中,减肥或积极参与体育锻炼之后,与血管生成相关的一些生物标志物的水平发生了什么变化。该研究表明,减肥是改善健康人体血管生成状况的一种安全而有效方法。随着体重的减轻,这些生物标志物的变化幅度令人感到惊讶。虽然不能肯定地说,通过减肥降低血管生成因子的循环水平会影响肿瘤的生长,但是很有可能,它们与肿瘤生长和增殖的不利环境有关。运动有助于防止体重增加,并保持体重下降,但本身不会导致大量的体重减轻。该研究表明,改变生活方式(在该情况下即简单饮食改变以减少体重)可以降低癌症的危险因素。
该研究的局限性在于只测量了三个血管生成因子(VEGF、PAI-1、PEDF)。同时,该研究只测量了血液循环中的生物标志物,而没有对脂肪或其他组织中的生物标志物进行测定。
Cancer Res. 2016 Jul 15;76(14):4226-35.
Dietary Weight Loss and Exercise Effects on Serum Biomarkers of Angiogenesis in Overweight Postmenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Duggan C, Tapsoba JD, Wang CY, McTiernan A.
Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.
Obese and sedentary persons have an increased risk for cancer, but underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Angiogenesis is common to adipose tissue formation and remodeling, and to tumor vascularization. A total of 439 overweight/obese, healthy, postmenopausal women [body mass index (BMI) > 25 kg/m2] ages 50-75 years, recruited between 2005 and 2008 were randomized to a 4-arm 12-month randomized controlled trial, comparing a caloric restriction diet arm (goal: 10% weight loss, N = 118), aerobic exercise arm (225 minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous activity, N = 117), a combined diet + exercise arm (N = 117), or control (N = 87) on circulating levels of angiogenic biomarkers. VEGF, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) were measured by immunoassay at baseline and 12 months. Changes were compared using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for baseline BMI, age, and race/ethnicity. Participants randomized to the diet + exercise arms had statistically significantly greater reductions in PAI-1 at 12 months compared with controls (−19.3% vs. +3.48%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Participants randomized to the diet and diet + exercise arms had statistically significantly greater reductions in PEDF (−9.20%, −9.90%, respectively, both P < 0.0001) and VEGF (−8.25%, P = 0.0005; −9.98%, P < 0.0001, respectively) compared with controls. There were no differences in any of the analytes in participants randomized to the exercise arm compared with controls. Increasing weight loss was statistically significantly associated with linear trends of greater reductions in PAI-1, PEDF, and VEGF. Weight loss is significantly associated with reduced circulating VEGF, PEDF, and PAI-1, and could provide incentive for reducing weight as a cancer prevention method in overweight and obese individuals.
PMID: 27417562
DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-0399