Cancer is a bigger problem than COVID-19. Scientists continue to make important strides in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In recent years, there has been a great improvement in the early diagnosis of breast cancer with blood tests. Today, however, a sad development has emerged in the field of cancer treatment.
A new research study from the University of Southampton has discovered that the “crown-like structures” surrounding breast tumors in overweight and obese patients may interfere with breast cancer treatment. According to the researchers, the new findings from this study could potentially be used to develop a personalized treatment for patients with HER2-positive, or excessive cancer-producing cells.
Overweight breast cancer patients have a higher mortality rate
Adipose tissue in the healthy human breast and body fat are an important component. The most important reason for the increased risk of developing breast cancer is a high body mass index. According to studies, mortality rates in breast cancer are higher in patients with cancer who are overweight than in patients with a healthy body mass index.
In patients with high body mass index, increased body fat surrounding the breast may cause inflammatory immune cells called macrophages to collect in the adipose tissue of the breast. These macrophages can then surround these fat cells to form crown-like structures. This causes an inflammatory environment in the breast that can lead to the initiation and growth of tumors, namely breast cancer. How these crown-like structures affect breast cancer progression and how they respond to treatment is still unknown.
Professors Stephen Beers, Ramsey Cutress and Dr. A research team led by Charles Birts examined samples from a group of HER2+ breast cancer patients to investigate the link and influence between a high body mass index and the formation of crown-like structures.
Cancer spreads faster in obese people
According to results published in a scientific research journal, cancer patients who are overweight or obese have significantly more fat tissue surrounding the tumor. More crown-like structures were seen. It turned out that this caused the disease to spread more quickly.
Later in the study, the researchers identified a potential molecular biomarker called CD32B on the surface of macrophages in these crown-like structures. Obesity and overweight patients with subsequent biomarkers had a significantly lower response to trastuzumab therapy, that is, intravenous humanized monoclonal antibody therapy to treat certain types of breast cancer and gastric cancer, compared to people of more normal weight.
According to Stephen Beers, Professor of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the University of Southampton, this study highlighted how effective trastuzumab therapy is in patients with no biomarkers. “These patients may benefit from lower doses of anti-HER2 therapy, which can minimize the side effects they experience,” Beers said. We need further studies with more patients to help confirm these initial findings.”
Beers and his research team now use the behavior of these crown-like structures to improve responses to breast cancer treatment and for treatment outcome.
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