“Whether that comes from a better diet or the fact that your parents happen to be tall doesn’t matter … it is purely a number of cells, however that comes about,” he said, although he admits height differences only appear to partly explain why men are at greater risk of many cancers than women. key points Key points: Taller people have more cells in their body, as well as higher levels of a protein that encourages cells to divide and grow 
 
 For every 10cm over the average height, a person's risk for cancer increases 10 per cent 
 
 New analysis of data from big cancer studies supports this, and also finds a few specific cancers to be more or less strongly correlated with height 
 
 Leonard Nunney, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California, Riverside, looked at massive cancer databases to find out how the number of cells in a person's body, using height as a proxy, might affect their risk of developing cancer. Nunney said his work, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, is based on the fundamental model of how cancer develops, whereby individuals accumulate mutations in their cells (other than sperm or eggs) over their life: if a particular set of mutations arise then a certain cancer will initiate. The research also found that the increase in risk is greater for women, with taller women 12% more likely to contract cancer and taller men 9% more likely to do so.  Report suggests link between height and cancer risk could simply be because there are more cells for something to go wrong in 
 
 Taller people have a greater risk of cancer because they are bigger and so have more cells in their bodies in which dangerous mutations can occur, new research has suggested. "What we haven't been sure of is why -- whether this is simply because a taller person has more cells in their body, or whether there's an indirect link, such as something to do with nutrition and childhood," added Hill, who was not involved in the study. Taller people more likely to get cancer, say researchers Read more 
 
 Nunney compared the overall risk of men and women developing cancer of any type with increasing height, as found from previous studies of large cohorts, with what might be expected from calculations based on the number of cells in a body. "The easiest one to explain in that sense is cervical cancer, because we know that almost 100 per cent of cervical cancers are related to infection with one of a few strains of HPV." Scientists have put forward a number of different explanations for this, including that certain growth hormones could play a role in both height and cancer, or that environmental factors such as childhood nutrition or illness could be a factor. Nunney said a slight boost in the rate of cell division, as a result of higher levels of IGF-1, might have a stronger effect on these cells than it does in other tissues, possibly because melanoma might need a larger set of mutations to develop than other cancers.  (CNN) Tall people are at a greater risk of cancer because they have more cells in their body, new research has suggested.
– A new study on cancer won't make for pleasant reading for tall people. Consider this quote from lead researcher Leonard Nunney of the University of California Riverside: "If you were comparing a 5-foot guy to a basketball player who's over 7 feet tall, then that basketball player has around twice the risk of cancer across the board," he tells Australia's ABC. Yes, Nunney's study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests that taller people are at greater risk for cancer. The surprisingly simple reason? They have more cells, and thus more things go can wrong in those cells, explains the Guardian. Specifically, the study found that cancer risk rises by 10% for every 4 inches people are above average height—5 feet 4 for women and 5 feet 9 for men, reports CNN. The findings held true for 18 of 23 cancers studied. "Now, you can't do anything about your height, but what you can do is tell extremely tall individuals that they should be aware of this, and if they have any concerns, to get checked," says Nunney. Cancers of the colon and kidney were among those with the strongest correlation to height. A researcher not involved with the study says it backs up previously seen links between height and cancer, but she said tall people shouldn't worry too much. "The increased risk is small, and there's plenty you can do to reduce the risk of developing cancer, such as not smoking and keeping a healthy weight," says Georgina Hill of Cancer Research UK. (A WWE wrestling star made an emotional revelation about his own cancer.)