World Cancer Research Fund has taken a leading role internationally in advancing the state of knowledge on the biological mechanisms underlying the associations between diet, lifestyle and body size, and cancer risk and survival, including their recently developed systematic review process for reviewing the mechanistic literature. We are delighted to have the opportunity to implement this systematic review process with funding from the World Cancer Research Fund, towards improving understanding on mechanisms linking body fatness to cancers of the breast, endometrium, and ovary, and towards ultimately informing strategies for prevention.
– Dr Renee Fortner
Grant title: Biological mechanisms underpinning associations between adult body fatness and postmenopausal breast, endometrial and ovarian cancers: A systematic review demonstration project using the World Cancer Research Fund/University of Bristol Framework.
Results
The researchers found strong evidence of associations between body fatness and sex steroids, inflammation, and insulin- related biomarkers, with reductions in adiposity associated with significant changes in biomarker levels in blood. Sex steroids, inflammation, and insulin-related biomarkers were associated with risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, with differences in associations for markers on the individual pathways by cancer site and subtypes. Findings on sex steroids were predominantly in postmenopausal women, with fewer studies available on premenopausal women.
Conclusions
Overall, sex steroids, inflammation, and insulin-related biomarker pathways were confirmed with convincing evidence as mechanistic links between adiposity and endometrial cancer, non-serous subtypes of ovarian cancer, and breast cancer.
Impact
The project was the first comprehensive, two-stage systematic review of putative mechanisms underlying associations between body fatness and postmenopausal breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer using the World Cancer Research Fund International-University of Bristol mechanisms review framework. The identification of pathways linking body fatness to breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancer may inform the selection of potential targets for interventions and cancer prevention, and will guide future intervention studies.
Grant publication
Kebede, M.M., et al. (2022). In‐depth evaluation of machine learning methods for semi‐automating article screening in a systematic review of mechanistic literature. Research Synthesis Methods, vol. 14, no. 2, Mar. 2023.
