Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Obesity Walk Hand in Hand
Written by Chloe Chou
Edited by Christine Yee
July 31st 2021
Edited by Christine Yee
July 31st 2021
It might be time to put down those delicious burgers and refreshing soft drinks—they’re increasing your risk of developing triple negative breast cancer. Triple negative breast cancer is considered a more aggressive form of breast cancer due to its lack of treatment choices. While frightening and not previously not well researched, scientists have recently discovered a tenable link between obesity and higher incidences of triple negative breast cancer. Research is still ongoing to determine exactly how obesity may increase rates of triple negative breast cancer, however a promising connection seems to point toward diabetes associated insulin resistance, and tumor growth.
The extra obesity associated fat cells along with the insulin resistance work together to increase rates of triple negative breast cancer. Insulin is a hormone in our bodies that helps our cells take in blood sugars to be used as energy. Individuals who become resistant to the effects of insulin, due to factors including a lack of exercise and/or excess fat, build up a reservoir of unused insulin and become diabetic. Other than regulating our blood sugar levels, increased insulin levels can also interfere with apoptosis, or programmed cell death, an important component of our body’s natural cancer-fighting abilities. Normally, when our body detects an abnormal proliferation of fast-growing cells (the emerging tumor), we can induce cell death and stop the growth of these mutant cells before they become a tumor and possibly progress to cancer. However, individuals of an unhealthy weight are likely to accumulate too much insulin in their bloodstream, leading to an ineffective apoptosis pathway for potentially cancerous cells. This factor along with the fatty and growth factor filled composition of the human breast sets the foundation for increased incidences of triple negative breast cancer. With 40% of the world now overweight and around 18% obese, chance of getting triple negative breast cancer is almost like playing roulette. Since rates of obesity continue to climb, so will the chances of any of someone’s breast cancer tumors to potentially become triple negative breast cancer.
Although the link between triple negative breast cancer and obesity is still largely unexplored, there are still a number of good treatment options for individuals diagnosed with this form of cancer. In addition to chemotherapy, there may be some basis to adding exercise to the treatment regimen as suggested by the researchers. While this option is still being explored, perhaps it would be a good idea for more individuals to learn about the benefits of exercise and implement similar healthy practices into their everyday lives.
Image Source: “Tumor Breast IM recurrence” by Tomas Dvorak licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0