Losing weight lowered levels of proteins associated with tumor growth

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-07/fhcr-erl071116.php

Public Release: 14-Jul-2016
Losing weight lowered levels of proteins associated with tumor growth
In Fred Hutch study, obese women who lost weight significantly lowered levels of proteins in the blood that help certain tumors grow
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Overweight or obese women who lost weight through diet or a combination of diet and exercise also significantly lowered levels of proteins in the blood that help certain tumors grow, according to a Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study published July 14 in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.••••

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The authors said that it is known that being overweight and having a sedentary lifestyle are associated with increased risk for developing certain cancers, but the reasons for this relationship are not clear.

This study shows that weight loss may be a safe and effective way to improve the "angiogenic profile" of healthy individuals, meaning they would have lower blood levels of cancer-promoting proteins. Although the researchers cannot say for certain that this would impact the growth of tumors, they believe there could be an association between reduced protein levels and a less favorable environment for tumor growth.