The science behind the relations among cancer, height, growth patterns, and growth hormone axis.
Cesar Luiz BoguszewskiMargaret Cristina da Silva BoguszewskiWouter W de HerderPublished in: Endocrine-related cancer (2023)
The association between growth hormone (GH) and carcinogenesis has long been postulated. The rationale for this association is that several components of the GH axis play an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis and have been tested as targets for cancer therapy. Epidemiological and clinical studies have examined the association between height, growth patterns, and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) levels with the most common types of malignancies, while genome-wide association studies have revealed several height-associated genes linked to cancer and/or metastasis-driving pathways. In this context, a permissive role of the GH-IGF signaling system in the link between height and cancer risk has also been investigated. In animal and human models, genetic defects associated with GH deficiency or resistance are associated with protection from tumor development, while the risk of malignancies in acromegaly or in patients exposed to recombinant GH therapy has long been a matter of concern and scrutiny. In this review, we present a narrative and historical review covering the potential relations among height, growth patterns, GH axis, and cancer.
Keyphrases
- growth hormone
- body mass index
- papillary thyroid
- cell proliferation
- endothelial cells
- cancer therapy
- squamous cell
- ejection fraction
- genome wide
- oxidative stress
- public health
- clinical trial
- newly diagnosed
- squamous cell carcinoma
- stem cells
- prognostic factors
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- mesenchymal stem cells
- dna methylation
- childhood cancer
- replacement therapy
- vascular endothelial growth factor
- transcription factor
- high resolution
- high speed
- cell therapy
- case control
- bioinformatics analysis