Obesity and Breast Cancer: Circulating Adipokines and Their Potential Diagnostic as Risk Biomarkers

Abstract

Obesity and cancer are two major epidemics of this century. Obesity is related to a higher risk of many types of cancer.   Studies have accessed circulating adipokines, as key-mediators in obesity and breast cancer. The study is aimed to examine the circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, leptin, adiponectin, and resistin in premenopausal Iraqi women with breast cancer. The current study was performed during the period from June 2019 to December 2019 at Oncology unit/ Medical City Hospital-Baghdad. A total of 90 premenopausal women with BC/ stage II and III after 2^nd dose of chemotherapy were contributed in this study as patients group. Their ages ranged from (35-50) years in addition to 90 premenopausal healthy women were designated as a control group. There was a substantial rise (p < 0.05) in fasting serum glucose, total serum cholesterol, triacylglycerol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, CA15-3, insulin-like growth factor-1, leptin, leptin/adiponectin ratio, and resistin. While there was a substantial decrease (p= 0.01) in serum adiponectin in patients as paralleled to healthy. There was a considerable rise (p ≤ 0.05) in serum insulin-like growth factor-1, leptin,  and resistin,  while there was a reduced in serum adiponectin in obese patients as paralleled to overweight, but it was not significant. Additionally, circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-1, leptin, and resistin were significantly increased (p= 0.001) in patients who had tumour size > 5 cm paralleled to those with tumour size 2-5 cm. Higher levels of serum leptin, resistin, and leptin to adiponectin ratio are related to improved breast cancer risk in Iraqi women. The clinical and pathological features of the tumour recommended that these adipokines might affect the development of breast cancer. Thus adipokines, in complicated and interrelated mechanisms, maybe drive breast cancer instigation and progression.