TKeeping the balance under control is a universally valid recommendation. This is particularly true for women, for whom not only theobesity but also being overweight increases the risk of breast cancer and to develop relapses. Many observational studies that have come to these results are based on the assessment of the body mass index or BMI, from English body mass indexan easily calculable value because it indicates the relationship between a person’s weight and his height.
The one guilty? It is adipose tissue
The dangerous link between weight and oncological health actually lies in the patient’s body composition, which is a risk factor not only to be monitored with a view to secondary prevention but also to be taken into consideration with a view to personalizing therapies.
A recent work published in Scientific Reportsa small retrospective study conducted on only 140 women treated for breast cancer and followed up for an average of 95 months, focused on the relationship between adipose tissue and cancer and found an association between the presence of visceral fat and relapses.
With visceral fat increases the risk of recurrence
The authors analyzed the results ofPet-FDG exam performed by women before undergoing surgery to identify the extent and metabolic activity of the tumor. This method highlights the most metabolically active areas such as tumor tissue but also any areas of high inflammation including, of course, those in visceral fat. The team then compared this data with the presence of recurrences and distant metastases at follow-up. One emerged significantly higher risk in women with more visceral fat.
The role of inflammation in the tumor
The mechanism underlying the association is as follows: le inflammatory adipokines, molecules to pro-inflammatory action secreted by visceral fat, induce a microenvironment that supports inflammation, which in turn promotes the carcinogenesis and the growth of cancer cells.
Other recent studies have demonstrated an association between elevated levels of inflammatory serum biomarkers and recurrence, suggesting that even systemic inflammation affects breast cancer recurrence. Furthermore, the development of other typical problems of extra kilos, such as those of a metabolic and cardiovascular nature, is also linked to the state of low-grade chronic inflammation favored by visceral obesity. A way to turning off inflammation is, therefore, to reduce adipose tissue.
The Umberto Veronesi Foundation
There Umberto Veronesi Foundation was born in 2003 on the initiative of Umberto Veronesi and many other internationally renowned scientists and intellectuals, including 11 Nobel Prize winners, with the aim of promoting scientific research of excellence and prevention, health education and science dissemination projects. The Foundation’s activities renew every day the vision of its founder Umberto Veronesi, a doctor who has dedicated his life to developing innovative scientific knowledge to put it at the service of the well-being of his patients. The foundation:
- supports the scientific research through the delivery of research grants for doctors and researchers and finances projects very high profile that can develop new knowledge and new treatments for oncological diseases
- accomplish prevention campaigns and education that promote the adoption of healthy and mindful lifestylesin synergy with schools and with public and private realities in the world of research, information and publishing
- organize international conferences that tell the future of science and the role it can play in promoting peace and the well-being of peoples.
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