title: Obesity, breast cancer and the role of adipocytokines.
abstract: Obesity is a worldwide problem which impacts the risk and prognosis of some of the more common forms of cancer, including breast cancer in post-menopausal women. As the basis for understanding the potential mechanisms of obesity and cancer relationship has advanced, a number of new hypotheses have emerged. The adipocytokines are a complex group of biologically active polypeptides. Leptin is a growth hormone, secreted by adipose tissue, whose levels are normally elevated in obese individuals and may have a promoting effect on carcinogenesis and metastasis of breast cancer, possibly in an autocrine manner. Leptin interferes with the insulin signaling pathway and in type 2 diabetes plasma leptin levels are found to be correlated with the degree of insulin resistance, a relationship independent of body mass. This relationship might provide a mechanistic explanation for promotion potential.
authors.affiliation: Division of Non Communicable Diseases, Indian Council of Medical Research, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110 029, India. tankaur@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Tanvir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Zuo-Feng
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D036361:Peptide Hormones