Triple-negative breast cancer outcomes are often worse among people living with obesity-driven type 2 diabetes, a new study has shown.
Researchers from Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have found that metabolic disorders can negatively impact triple-negative breast cancer – the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
Experts are urging oncologists to monitor people with breast cancer and obesity-driven diabetes more closely than those with breast cancer who are otherwise healthy because they are more likely to experience worsened outcomes.
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Scientists have highlighted that the biology of breast cancer is altered by type 2 diabetes, mean-ing those living with the metabolic condition are at greater risk of breast cancer complications.
Lead author Professor Gerald V Denis said: “We hope our study will lead to better treatments for people with aggressive breast cancer, especially those with metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes.
“By uncovering how cancer and metabolism are connected, we move one step closer to more personalised and effective therapies.”
In the trial, the team of scientists looked at how the microRNAs contained in exosomes from fat cells can negatively affect the behaviour of triple-negative breast cancer cells.
After collecting exosomes from fat cells, they added them to cancer cells in lab experiments, and experimental models of breast cancer metastasis.
The study has reported that microRNAs promote aggressiveness in triple-negative breast cancer and increase brain metastasis.
In addition, the results have revealed that new patterns detected in models highlight why obesity-driven insulin resistance and diabetes can trigger worse breast cancer outcomes.
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Professor Denis said: “Our study highlights the growing understanding that cancer does not de-velop in isolation – it is influenced by a person’s overall health, including metabolic conditions like type 2 diabetes.
“This problem is urgent because the epidemic of obesity-driven diabetes is worsening and now affects over 537 million adults worldwide.”
He concluded: “This finding adds to the idea that treating underlying conditions, not just cancer itself, could improve patient outcomes.”
Read the study in the journal Molecular Cancer Research.
