2020/06/15

Opposing roles for the two main types of estrogen in obesity-driven mammary inflammation and breast cancer development

CIC bioGUNE researchers have participated in a collaborative study to explore the role of different types of the female hormone estrogen in breast cancer in obese postmenopausal women. The study shows that 17 ß-estradiol, the major premenopausal estrogen, inhibits inflammation, tumorigenesis and stemness, while the postmenopausal estrogen, estrone, drives these processes.

This work contributes to our understanding of why breast cancer risk is higher in women after menopause and with obesity. Given the rise in obesity in Western society, and its known association with an increase in inflammation-associated diseases, including cancer, these findings highlight the need for lifestyle interventions in obese breast cancer patients.

The study, published in Cell Metabolism (doi.org/10.1016/J.CMET.2020.05.008) is part of a collaboration between the Cancer Heterogeneity group, led by Dr Maria Vivanco, and Professor Joyce Slingerland, lead author, from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, and includes other teams from the US.