Validating the Link Between Obesity and Breast Inflammation in Women with Breast Cancer

Neil M. Iyengar, MD, Fellow, Medical Oncology and Hematology, Breast Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses a study presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium that further validated the link between obesity and breast inflammation in women with breast cancer.

Clinical Pearls:

• A study that validated the link between obesity inflammation and aromatase activation was expanded
• The expanded cohort showed that breast inflammation correlated with body mass index and that breast inflammation of the fatty tissue occurs regardless of tumor phenotype
• The white adipose tissue from the abdominal fat of women who underwent breast reconstruction surgery was compared to the white adipose tissue from the breast
• Result showed that the majority of patients who had inflammation in one breast also had inflammation in the other breast or the abdominal fat pad
• As the abdominal fat pad seems to mirror the breast fat, the abdominal fat will be assessed because it is more easily obtained than the breast fat