Israeli researchers have cracked the link between obesity and breast cancer

A study conducted by researchers at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, on obesity and breast cancer, found the mechanism that contributes to the aggressive progression of breast cancer in overweight women

Walla!

health

26/12/2021

Sunday, 26 December 2021, 00:25 Updated: 00:31

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share on Email

• Share on general

• Comments

  Comments

A groundbreaking study at Hadassah has found the link between obesity and breast cancer.

The study, conducted by researchers at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, on obesity and breast cancer, found the mechanism contributing to the aggressive progression of breast cancer in overweight women, and received a grant from the Israel Cancer Research Foundation (ICRF).

"In the new study, we were able to characterize one of the mechanisms of increased breast cancer progression in overweight patients - a growing phenomenon in Western countries," said Prof. Tamar Peretz, an expert in cancer and breast cancer research and director of the Hadassah Center for Breast Diseases. Michael Elkin, researcher in the Oncology Division at Hadassah.

Elkin and Peretz's study, in collaboration with researchers in Israel and around the world, was published in the leading journal CANCER RESEARCH, and it focuses on an enzyme called frenzy and its effect on the course of cancer in overweight patients.

More on Walla!

An Israeli study offers new hope for prostate cancer patients

To the full article

Woman performs breast self-examination (Photo: ShutterStock)

Prof. Elkin and Prof. Tamar Peretz explained that "previous studies conducted in the field have found that there are several types of cancer that are directly affected by obesity. One of them is breast cancer, which is dependent on the hormone estrogen in postmenopausal women (post menopause). "Breast cancer is dependent on estrogen and if they are overweight, we have seen that the cancer is expressed more aggressively, and the treatment with the means available today is less effective for them."

The link between overweight and cancer aggressiveness

Elkin and Peretz conducted a basic and clinical study at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, in which they examined in depth the involvement of the Franz in breast cancer patients.

Franz is a unique enzyme that was previously characterized and cloned by Prof. Israel Vlodovsky at Hadassah.

This enzyme plays a central and important role in the ability of cancer cells to penetrate blood vessels, thus contributing to the progression of the cancer process through the development of metastases.

"We wanted to understand the mechanism by which obesity is linked to cancer and what its exact effect is.

For the study we established a model of obesity and estrogen-dependent breast cancer in mice and saw that in overweight mice the cancer grew faster and was much more aggressive compared to the overweight mice we eliminated. The presence of the enzyme french, "the researchers explained.

"The ambition is to reach the highest level in adapted medicine even according to the patient's physical data."

Researchers Prof. Elkin and Prof. Peretz (Photo: Hadassah Spokeswoman)

More on Walla!

• 8 simple methods to help you improve your memory

• Your weight really does not matter.

  And this is the explanation that will convince you

• Do you deserve a disabled parking ticket?

  That's how you'll get it without bureaucracy

The unequivocal finding in the study was that in a mouse lacking the enzyme parenchyma, obesity had no effect at all on tumor development and resistance to treatments and the treatment results were similar to those in an overweight mouse.

Prof. Elkin and Prof. Peretz said that their ambition following the findings of their study is "to develop customized treatment for patients not only on the genomic level, but to reach the highest level in tailored medicine according to the patient's physical data." "Preferably expressed in overweight patients, and the presence of the enzyme causes an increase in estrogen signaling, which plays a negative and central role in the development of hormone-dependent breast cancer."

• health

• news

Tags

• breast cancer

• Hadassah

• Hadassah Ein Kerem

• obesity

• over-weight