Results
Title

Obesity-related proliferative diseases: the interaction between adipose tissue and estrogens in post-menopausal women.

Authors

Vicennati, Valentina; Garelli, Silvia; Rinaldi, Eleonora; Rosetti, Sara; Zavatta, Guido; Pagotto, Uberto; Pasquali, Renato

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have shown that overweight and cancer are closely related, even though obesity alone does not apparently heighten cancer risk by the same amount. Given the low overall risk of all cancers with obesity, it is unlikely that obesity alone causes cancer, but should instead be considered as a tumor promoter. There are three main hypotheses that could explain how obesity might contribute to cancer development and growth: the inflammatory cytokines from adipose tissue hypothesis, the insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia hypothesis, and the unopposed estrogen cancer hypothesis. The link between obesity and cancer is that adipocytes constitute a major component of the tumor microenvironment for breast and abdominally metastasizing cancers, promoting tumor growth. This review will mainly focus attention on the relationship between adipose tissue, estrogens, and cancer risk.

Subjects

OBESITY complications; ADIPOSE tissue physiology; POSTMENOPAUSE; CANCER susceptibility; COCARCINOGENS; INSULIN resistance risk factors; PHYSIOLOGY

Publication

Hormone Molecular Biology & Clinical Investigation, 2015, Vol 21, Issue 1, p75

ISSN

1868-1883

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1515/hmbci-2015-0002