But why? Here is what is known, unknown and suspected.
The risk increases relatively little
Overall, it has been found that for every ten (more than average) increase in height, a woman’s risk of developing cancer increases by about 16 percent. A similar increase in risk was found in men.
To be clear, if about 45 out of 10,000 women of average height (about 165 cm) get cancer every year, then about 52 out of 10,000 women who are 175 cm tall will get cancer. That’s just seven additional cancers. So, the risk actually increases quite a bit.
Another study found that 22 out of 23 cancers were more common in taller people than in shorter people.
Why do taller people get cancer more often?
The relationship between height and cancer risk is emerging between different ethnic groups and income levelsas well as in studies that looked at genes that determine height. These results suggest that there are biological reasons determining the relationship between cancer and height.
While it’s not entirely clear why this is, there are a few solid theories.
The first is related to thisthat a taller person has more cells. For example, a tall person probably has a longer colon, which contains more cells—and therefore a higher chance of developing this type of cancer—than a shorter person.
Scientists believe that cancer develops through the accumulation of genetic damage that can occur in a cell as it divides to make new cells.
The more times a cell divides, the more likely it is to develop genetic damage that will be passed on to new cells. The more lesions accumulate, the more likely cancer will develop.
A person with more cells in their body divides more often, potentially making one of them more likely to develop cancer.
Some studies support the idea that higher cell numbers are the reason tall people are more likely to get cancer – and may partly explain why men are more likely to get cancer than women (because they are, on average, taller than women).
However, it is not clear whether height is related to the size of all organs – for example, do taller women have larger breasts or larger ovaries?
In one study tried to estimate it. Organ mass was found to explain the association between height and cancer risk in 8 of the 15 cancers assessed.
It is worth noting that this study was quite limited due to the amount of organ mass data available.
Another theory is that there is some common factor that makes people taller and increases their risk of cancer. One possibility is growth-promoting hormone (IGF-1). This hormone helps children grow and later plays an important role in promoting cell growth and division in adults. This is an important feature. Our body must produce new cells when the old ones are damaged or become old.
But we can have too much of a good thing. Some studies have shown that people with higher than average levels of IGF-1 have a higher risk of developing breast or prostate cancer. But again, this was not a consistent result across all cancer types.
Both explanations (more cells and more IGF-1) are likely to be significant. But more research is needed to truly understand why taller people get cancer more often, and whether this information could be used to prevent or even treat cancer, Science Alert writes.
2024-09-07 22:11:39