Obesity Promotes Breast Cancer

Obesity is increasing rapidly worldwide, especially in children and young adults, and is the leading preventable cause of death. Being overweight has major health implications including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer development and more. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food intake, genetic susceptibility, and lack of exercise. Lifestyle changes including diet and exercise are common ways to treat obesity. Excessive body fat can accumulate and can increase the release of cytokines into the bloodstream leading to adverse health effects.

In a recent publication, the mechanism of obesity enhancing the spread of cancer was explored. The enzyme acetyl-coenzyme A-carboxylase 1 (ACC1) plays a central role in causing breast cancer to be more aggressive. By inhibiting the ACC1 enzyme, the induction of cancer metastasis occurs. Using a receptor-blocking antibody to block this inhibition helped reduce the spread of breast cancer in an experimental model. Additionally, Acc1 phosphorylation was also shown to be increased in invading cells. ACC1 function in fatty acid synthesis is impaired by the cytokines TGF-beta and leptin. Interestingly, overweight patients have increased levels of these cytokines. This could be a new therapeutic target as inhibition of ACC1 ultimately leads to an increase in the cancer cell metastasis. Given that in women, breast cancer recurrence and spread is one of the main causes of cancer related death, treatment to reduce the risk of metastases or the recurrence of cancer is greatly needed.

For more information: http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(17)30570-3

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