Height and cancer relation

Abstract

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system is one of the important biological systems which is composed of IGF-1, IGF-2 ligands, membrane receptors, and binding proteins (IGFBP). The IGF system allows growth in many specific cells. The biological effects of growth hormone (GH), postnatal growth and longitudinal growth, are mediated by IGF-1 which is synthesized from the liver by GH stimulation. The IGF-1 is a peptide which is also expressed in the bone and skeletal muscles. Through this effect, it plays a role in height. The IGF system also promotes cell proliferation in the cellular cycle, regulates, and inhibits apoptosis. All of these effects lead to the development of cancer by allowing continuous division of mutated cells in the cellular cycle. These genome-wide links allow the relationship between height and cancer to be elucidated. In some studies, a significant positive correlation has been shown between certain cancer types and height, while in some studies, this result has not been shown.