A study out of Sweden has suggested that your height could be associated with your risk of suffering from cancer. Though, researchers have said that there's no proof that being tall leads to the disease, their study of over five million Swedish men and women has discovered that for every 4 extra inches of adult height the cancer risk was associated with an 18% increase in women and 11% in men.

It suggested that taller women had a 20% higher risk of developing breast cancer. The study showed that in men and women, the risk of developing melanoma increased by nearly 30% for every 4 inches of height.

The American Cancer Society's Susan Gapstur, who was not a part of the study, said that the study has confirmed what has been shown by other studies. She added that earlier research has also discovered an association between height and colon cancer.

However, Gapstur, who is vice president of epidemiology at the society, hasgiven a warning that the study results have only shown a link between height and cancer risk, and haven’t proved that being tall causes cancer.

Furthermore, she stressed that height lone is not destiny and if you are tall it doesn’t mean that you will develop cancer. She questioned that how could height and cancer risk be related?

Gapstur added that height may be a sign of cancer risk. She mentioned, “Height may be a reflection of early age exposures. This study may provide a window to understand some early life exposures, since adult height is a reflection of genetics and what you are exposed to while you are growing up”.

There’s no need to panic. “Tall people shouldn’t worry that they are destined to get cancer,” said Mel Greaves, a researcher at the Institute of Cancer Research in London.