New from AICR Update...
Spurring Cancer Growth with Fat
Research shows that obesity increases the risk of developing many types of cancer. Now a group of researchers reporting in the journal
Cell have uncovered an enzyme that may show one way cancer cells use fat to spur cancer development.
In the lab study, scientists identified a new enzyme, known as MAGL that is highly elevated in aggressive cancer cells. In cancer cells, MAGL appears to latch onto free fatty acids from fat and turn it into a signaling molecule that promotes tumor development. In mice that were obese the aggressive cancer cells used the fat from tissue. In healthy-weight mice eating a high-fat diet, the cancer cells appeared to use the fat from the diet.