Molecular interactions in obesity and cancer

Abstract

The incidence of overweight and obesity has reached pandemic proportions in modern society, affecting two thirds of the US and over half of the European population. Obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in the form of elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many types of cancer. Overweight and obesity have been proposed to account for 14% of all cancer deaths in men and 20% in women in the US. Of all cancers, oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OAD) displays one of the strongest epidemiological links with obesity, making it an excellent model with which to study this association at a molecular level. OAD is an aggressive disease associated with early haematological and lymphatic dissemination. Incidence of this highly lethal cancer has risen by 50% in the last 15 years, mirroring the exponential rise in obesity. The overall aim of this thesis was to dissect the molecular pathways linking obesity with OAD and to determine if obesity could be linked to increased aggressiveness of this disease.