Hormonal
Obesity increases the risk of estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer in postmenopausal women through the 'obesity-inflammation-aromatase axis,' where visceral fat produces estrogen via the enzyme aromatase.
For postmenopausal women, carrying extra weight around the middle is dangerous because fat cells act like small hormone factories. They convert other hormones into estrogen, which fuels the growth of many breast cancers. Losing weight reduces this local estrogen production and the inflammation that drives it, directly lowering your risk of developing estrogen-positive breast cancer.
The positive association of postmenopausal BC risk and specifically estrogen receptor (ER)-positive BC, is presumably due largely to accumulation of estrogen in the adipose tissue of the breast and other tissues. ... This 'obesity-inflammation-aromatase axis' has been proposed to play an important role in increased risk of ER+ breast cancer in postmenopausal women, by elevating estrogen levels in the breasts of women in whom levels of estrogen in the general circulation are reduced (60, 64, 65).
Why this rating
Supported by multiple mechanistic studies, prospective cohorts, and consistent findings across the literature.
Source
The Many Faces of Obesity and Its Influence on Breast Cancer Risk
Tanya Agurs‐Collins et al. · Frontiers in Oncology · 2019
DOI 10.3389/fonc.2019.00765
More from this paper
- Weight loss significantly reduces the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, with a dose-response relationship where greater weight loss leads to greater decreases in estrogen and increased sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).Good
- Obesity increases the risk of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in premenopausal women, primarily through abdominal (visceral) obesity rather than overall BMI.Good
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