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The Link Between Early Life Nutrition and Cancer Risk

  • Cancer (MF Leitzmann, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Traditionally, cancer has been considered a disease caused by genetic alterations. However, there is growing evidence that the environment, particularly a person’s early life environment, can influence cancer risk. The mechanism by which the environment has been suggested to influence cancer risk is through the altered epigenetic regulation of genes. Epigenetic processes, which include DNA methylation, induce stable changes in gene expression without altering the gene sequence. A number of environmental factors, including nutrition, have been shown to alter the epigenome, leading to long term changes in gene expression and an altered susceptibility to disease. Using evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies, this review will discuss the hypothesis that changes in diet during early development can lead to an altered susceptibility to cancer as the result of modified epigenetic regulation of genes.

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Conflict of Interest

R. Jordan Price, Graham C. Burdge, and Karen A. Lillycrop declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academic Unit of Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Developmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK

    R. Jordan Price & Graham C. Burdge

  2. Centre for Biological Sciences, Institute of Developmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Developmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK

    Karen A. Lillycrop

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  1. R. Jordan Price
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  2. Graham C. Burdge
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  3. Karen A. Lillycrop
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Correspondence to Karen A. Lillycrop.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cancer

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Price, R.J., Burdge, G.C. & Lillycrop, K.A. The Link Between Early Life Nutrition and Cancer Risk. Curr Nutr Rep 4, 6–12 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-014-0113-3

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