Fat-fighting drugs could raise cancer risk

Drugs being developed to fight obesity and clogged arteries may raise the risk of colon cancer, US researchers warned on Sunday.
Tests on mice showed the compounds, known as PPAR-delta agonists, can cause mice to grow pre-cancerous polyps.
The tests were done on mice bred to develop colon cancer and so do not necessarily apply to humans, but the team at Vanderbilt University in Nashville said the study suggested that companies testing these drugs might need to do more experiments before proceeding in people.
Dr Raymond DuBois and colleagues worked with a copy of GlaxoSmithKline's experimental compound, known as GW501516.
It is being studied as a possible drug to improve cholesterol levels and perhaps reverse heart disease caused by metabolic syndrome - the so called "syndrome x" marked by a tendency to abdominal fat, high blood pressure and poor cholesterol levels.
The drugs affect a protein called peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta - PPAR-d for short. This chemical doorway into cells is important in a number of biological functions, including metabolising fats and some of the processes that underlie the clogging of arteries.