What is happening in cancer

research today?

Last week, Hurricane Sandy and her aftereffects forced us to cancel our 23rd Annual Research Conference, which was scheduled to take place in Washington, DC.

Every year the conference brings together leading researchers from around the world to share current findings and future directions. Here are highlights of the big questions experts are working on to better understand how lifestyle plays a role in cancer risk and survivorship.

The obesity-cancer link:

How does it work?

Research clearly shows that obesity links to seven cancers, including esophagus, colon and endometrium.

Understanding why obesity contributes to cancer risk is one of the big questions under study. Recent studies have found that fat cells help tumors grow by providing them with nutrients.

Approximately 117,000 new cases of cancer in the United States could be prevented each year if every adult got to a healthy weight.

Eating less or exercising more:

What's better for cancer prevention?

Eating a healthy diet, being a healthy weight and physical activity all lower your risk of cancer.

Is there one factor that is more important and protective than others? It's possible that's true for certain populations. Scientists are investigating.

Passing it on: Do our diets affect our

children's risk for cancer?

A body of laboratory research now suggests that lifestyle factors, such as a high-fat diet, may affect our children's risk of adult-onset chronic diseases, including cancer.

Animal studies have shown maternal diet and obesity may cause changes to gene expression in offspring that could last for generations.

Cancer patients:

Exercise for bone health?

Cancer survivors are living longer, but treatment and the cancer itself places many at high risk for osteoporosis, which can lead to fractures, falls and poor quality of life. Breast and prostate cancer survivors are especially vulnerable.

Scientists are now learning how exercise may help strengthen and preserve bone mass in cancer patients and survivors.

Gut bacteria: A potential role in cancer

prevention and therapy?

Out gut is teeming with bacteria, about 100 trillion of them, which is roughly 10 times the amount of human cells in our body.

And now researchers are gaining a new perspective on how our gut bacteria may play a role in colon cancer.

Recent animal studies have shown that our gut microbes have the ability to turn genes off, particularly colon cancer-promoting genes.

Bringing the fight home: Is your neighborhood equipped for

cancer prevention?

Our food environment - such as our supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurants - is associated with risk of obesity and other chronic disease.

Researchers testing community programs are finding that increasing the availability of healthy foods and improving healthy food may reduce consumer's weight.

How to get the best anti-cancer bang for

your buck

How we cook and prepare our foods can influence the amount of cancer-fighting phytochemicals and nutrients available to our cells.

Scientists are investigating how preparing broccoli -- such as steaming -- produces the greatest amount of sulforaphane, an anti-carcinogenic compound present in broccoli.

If you're a meat lover, you can minimize potential carcinogens by avoiding cooking meat well-done or at high-temperatures.

More about the Research

For information please visit:

Making Sense of the Science

When Diet Meets Gene

The Weight-Cancer Link