Cancer risk higher for tall women
21 July 2011
Taller women are at greater risk of developing cancer, data from the UK Million Women Study show.
Analysis of data on more than one million women showed that for every 10 cm increase in height, women had a 16 per cent overall increased risk of cancer (Lancet Oncology 2011; online 21 Jul).
An increase of 10 cm in height led to a 32 per cent increased risk for malignant melanoma, and increased risks of kidney cancer (29 per cent), leukaemia (26 per cent) and bowel cancer (25 per cent).
Of the 17 cancers studied, only mouth/throat and bladder cancers were not associated with an increased risk due to being taller, the researchers said.
They found smoking status was the only one of 12 personal characteristics taken into account in the study that modified the effect of height on cancer risk.
The effect of height on cancer risk varied little between Europe, North America, Australasia and Asia, as shown by a meta-analysis of data from this and 10 other studies, the authors said.
Similarities between countries suggested there may be a common mechanism for the link between height and cancer risk, possibly acting in early life.
"Another possibility is that height predicts cancer risk because taller people have more cells, and thus a greater opportunity for mutations leading to malignant transformation," they said.
Last Reviewed: 21 July 2011
- 1. Green J, Cairns BJ, Casabonne D, et al; Million Women Study collaborators. Height and cancer incidence in the Million Women Study: prospective cohort, and meta-analysis of prospective studies of height and total cancer risk. Lancet Oncology 2011. [Epub ahead of print 2011 Jul 21.] doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70154-1. http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2811%2970154-1/fulltext (accessed Jul 2011).
