Patients with the most common types of cancers are less likely to respond to chemotherapy when tumors are high in a protein called Leptin. According to research published in British Journal of Cancer, researchers found that patients with tumors high in Leptin responded poorly to chemotherapy.
Dr. Russell Petty, a consultant medical oncologist and study author said, 0ur work suggests that having low levels of leptin means that the tumor is more likely to be aggressive, but also, that it is more likely to respond well to chemotherapy. Therefore, knowing who will benefit most from chemotherapy will prevent many patients from undergoing unnecessary treatment.
Depository fat also functions as endocrine tissue able to negate whole – body energy metabolism. Obesity and aging are independently associated with a deregulation of adipose tissue. While resulting in pro – inflammatory status, and also excessive release of adipokines. Sometimes personally I wonder about this theory, because thin people, people whom aren’t over weight and have a High Body Mass Index also have heart attacks, stroke and get cancer as well.
Data obtained through observational study conducted with prostate cancer patients, confirms the association of leptin; an adipose tissue- derived adipokine with cancer. Suggesting that serum leptin represents a stronger risk factor for prostate cancer (PC2) in older than in younger subjects ( Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome.) http://www.drfuhrman.com/
In the elderly patients, visceral obesity measured by waist to hip ratio provided a better correlation with serum leptin in terms of body mass index (BMI) measurements and also appeared to be a more adequate indicator of obesity. My opinion of the Body Mass Index, is that medical professionals should take into account that muscle weighs more than fat, and sometimes the BMI maybe not a true indicator of good versus bad health.
http://www.alive.com/articles/view/19457/does_obesity_really_affect_how_we_age
https://www.lef.org/protocols/skin_nails_hair/skin_aging_01.htm http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/11/2974.full