Leptin, obesity and breast cancer: progress to understanding the molecular connections.
Obesity has a complicated connection to both breast cancer risk and the clinical behaviour of the established disease. The obese setting provides a unique adipose tissue microenvironment that, in association with systemic endocrine modifications, promotes tumor initiation, primary growth, invasion, and metastatic progression. This review presents an overview of the clinical and experimental evidences highlighting the adipokine leptin as the most important molecular mediator of obesity-breast cancer axis. The research of leptin network operating in this context could launch a new field not only in the knowledge of risk factors for breast cancer but also in the development of leptin targeting drugs as promising anticancer agents.
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P Bucci, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy. Electronic address: ines.barone@unical.it.
Ines
I
Barone
Centro Sanitario, University of Calabria, Via P Bucci, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy.
Cinzia
C
Giordano
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P Bucci, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy.
Daniela
D
Bonofiglio
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P Bucci, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy.
Sebastiano
S
Andò
Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Via P Bucci, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy. Electronic address: stefcatalano@libero.it.
Stefania
S
Catalano
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D015195:Drug Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000378:metabolism*; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D020738:Leptin