help button home button Am J Pathol The FASEB Journal
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cowey, S.
Right arrow Articles by Hardy, R. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cowey, S.
Right arrow Articles by Hardy, R. W.
(American Journal of Pathology. 2006;169:1505-1522.)
© 2006 American Society for Investigative Pathology
DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2006.051090

Review

The Metabolic Syndrome

A High-Risk State for Cancer?

Stephanie Cowey and Robert W. Hardy

From the Department of Pathology, Division of Laboratory Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama

Abstract

The metabolic syndrome is composed of cardiovascular risk factors including increased body mass index/waist circumference, blood pressure, plasma glucose, and triglycerides, as well as decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The essence of the metabolic syndrome lies in the clustering of these risk factors, which are associated with cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, most of the components of the metabolic syndrome have individually been linked in some way to the development of cancer. However, epidemiological studies linking the metabolic syndrome to cancer are scarce. Nevertheless, two such studies indicate that the clustering of metabolic syndrome components significantly increases the risk of colon cancer mortality compared with the individual components. The purpose of this review is to further explore the potential relationship between the metabolic syndrome and cancer risk. Specifically, we examine the hypothesis that individual components of the metabolic syndrome contribute to the development of several processes, including insulin resistance, aromatase activity, adipokine production, angiogenesis, glucose utilization, and oxidative stress/DNA damage, which can work together to increase cancer risk beyond that of the individual components alone. We propose that the metabolic syndrome be considered as a high-risk state for certain types of cancer and that this relationship should be systematically explored across cancer types.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JCOHome page
S. Min Park, M. Kyung Lim, K. Won Jung, S. Ae Shin, K.-Y. Yoo, Y. Ho Yun, and B. Yul Huh
Prediagnosis Smoking, Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Second Primary Cancer Risk in Male Cancer Survivors: National Health Insurance Corporation Study
J. Clin. Oncol., October 20, 2007; 25(30): 4835 - 4843.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JCOHome page
Y. H. Yun and S. M. Park
In Reply
J. Clin. Oncol., April 20, 2007; 25(12): 1629 - 1630.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the American Society for Investigative Pathology.