Los Angeles: Tall people are more likely to suffer from cancer, claims a study which found that every 4-inch increase in height above the average lead to a 10 per cent greater risk of developing the deadly disease.

However, researchers said that height is only one of many factors that determine a person's cancer risk. Scientists from the University of California in the US compiled from four large-scale studies in the UK, US, South Korea, Austria, Norway and Sweden.

Each study chosen had to include 10,000 cancer cases for each sex, the 'BBC' reported. Of 18 cancer types analysed in both men and women, four -- pancreas, oesophagus, stomach and mouth/pharynx -- showed no apparent increase with height.

According to the report, for every 4-inch increase in human height above the average used in the study of 5 feet 7 inch for men and 5 feet 3 inch for women, there is a 10 per cent greater risk of that person getting cancer.

Since height cannot be modified, unlike lifestyle risk factors, such as body weight, living a healthy lifestyle is the way to reduce the chances of developing the disease.

"If you have more cells, you have a greater risk of cancer. Tall people have a greater surface area, and therefore more melanocytes, and so, of course, they're more likely to get melanoma," John O'Neill, research group leader from MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in the UK.