News briefs

Public wants better labels on unhealthy foods

Regulations to improve food labelling have strong public support, with almost 80% of people surveyed supporting the introduction of better labels on unhealthy foods, such as those that are high in sugar, salt and fat. In a survey of 2474 adults in New South Wales, published in Public Health Research and Practice, Cancer Council NSW researchers found that 86% of people supported a colour-coded food labelling system, 79% supported displaying health warning labels on unhealthy food and 73% of people supported a ban on unhealthy food advertising that targets children. The research also found that the most unpopular policy was a tax on unhealthy foods, with only 42% of people supporting the idea. The study, conducted in 2013, aimed to identify whether there is a relationship between support for food policy initiatives and awareness of the link between obesity-related lifestyle risk factors and cancer. It has recently been estimated that more than 3900 cases of cancer (3.4% of all cancers) diagnosed in Australia in 2010 could be attributed to overweight or obesity, 7089 (6.1%) to inadequate diet and 1814 (1.6%) to inadequate physical activity. The study found that support for food policy initiatives was higher among those who were aware of the link between cancer and obesity-related lifestyle factors than among those who were not.

http://www.phrp.com.au/issues/december-2017-volume-27-issue-5/support-for-food-policy-initiatives-is-associated-with-knowledge-of-obesity-related-cancer-risk-factors/

Circadian clock’s association with cancer prevention

German research, published in PLOS Biology, suggests that the body’s circadian clock may help suppress cancer. As it regulates a range of molecular time-dependent processes, including metabolism, DNA repair and the cell cycle, the study investigated whether the circadian clock has the potential to act as a tumour suppressor. The circadian clock operates in synchrony with environmental light–dark cycles and helps to coordinate metabolic and behavioural patterns, such as the daily cycles of rest and activity. Several links between the circadian clock and the cell cycle in mammalian cells have been reported, and the authors had previously shown that the rat sarcoma viral oncogene (RAS) induces dysregulation of the clock in keratinocytes. In order to further investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms, the authors applied mathematical modelling and whole-genome analysis, together with machine learning. When the researchers perturbed the RAS oncogene, which is inappropriately activated in one-quarter of all human tumours, and two known tumour suppressor proteins (INK4a and ARF), they discovered cross-talk between the circadian clock and the cell cycle. They found that the RAS protein, known to modulate the cell cycle, also controls circadian rhythms, and exerts its effect on the circadian clock via INK4a and ARF. This work highlights the important role of the circadian clock as modulator of cell fate decisions, and underscores the role of the circadian clock in tumour suppression. The results chime with recent studies that propose chronotherapy for cancer, in which sleeping and waking times are adjusted in an attempt to reset the patient’s biological clock.

http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2002940