Diabetes-related chemical may raise cancer risk, study

Singapore: A chemical linked to uncontrolled diabetes may increase the risk of developing tumors in the body, a new study has found.

In the latest study, experts have revised the long-held view that specific genes protect against cancer. According to this theory, called the ‘Knowledge-to-Hit Paradigm’, cancer-preventing genes must be completely inactivated in human cells before cancer develops.

However, recent research has shown that methylglyoxal (a chemical the body uses to break down glucose to make energy) can deactivate these protective genes. An uncontrolled or long-term poor diet can increase cancer risks over time.

One of the study’s authors, Dr Lee Ren Kong, from the National University of Singapore, said the scientists’ aim for the study was to understand the factors that increase the risk of cancer in families, but the research focused on energy consumption. was completed on the discovery of a deeper mechanism that links between the critical pathway of

The study found that changes in glucose metabolism in lab-created human tissue temporarily inactivated a gene (BRCA2, which protects against tumors in humans) and increased cancer risk.

The study also found that people with a higher risk of breast or ovarian cancer were more sensitive to methylglyoxal.