生长激素（GH）与癌症发生之间的关联一直存在。这种关联的理据是，GH轴的几个成分在细胞增殖、分化、凋亡、血管生成的调节中发挥重要作用，并已作为癌症治疗的靶点进行了测试。流行病学和临床研究已经研究了身高、生长模式和IGF-I水平与最常见的恶性肿瘤之间的关联，而全基因组关联研究已经揭示了与癌症和/或转移驱动途径相关的几个身高相关基因。在这种情况下，GH-IGF信号系统在身高和癌症风险之间的关联中起到许可作用的研究也得到了探究。在动物和人类模型中，与GH缺乏或耐受性相关的遗传缺陷与肿瘤发展的保护有关，而肢端肥大症或接受重组GH治疗的患者的恶性肿瘤风险长期以来一直受到关注和审查。在此综述中，我们提出了一篇叙事性和历史性综述，涵盖了身高、生长模式、GH轴和癌症之间的潜在关系。

The association between growth hormone (GH) and carcinogenesis has long been postulated. The rationale for this association is that several components of the GH axis play an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and angiogenesis and have been tested as targets for cancer therapy. Epidemiological and clinical studies have examined the association between height, growth patterns and IGF-I levels with the most common types of malignancies, while genome-wide association studies have revealed several height-associated genes linked to cancer and/or metastasis-driving pathways. In this context, a permissive role of the GH-IGF signaling system in the link between height and cancer risk has also been investigated. In animal and human models, genetic defects associated with GH deficiency or resistance are associated with protection from tumor development, while risk of malignancies in acromegaly or in patients exposed to recombinant GH therapy has long been a matter of concern and scrutiny. In this review, we present a narrative and historical review covering the potential relations among height, growth patterns, GH axis and cancer.