Association of preoperative serum adipokines, insulin, and sex steroid hormones with breast cancer risk in the Indian women.

BACKGROUND: Obesity-related factors such as adipokines, insulin, insulin-like growth factors, and sex steroid hormones have been reported to be involved in breast carcinogenesis. Studies across the world suggest an important, but still controversial, role of obesity in breast cancer risk. This study aims to evaluate the association of obesity-related factors such as adipokines, insulin, insulin resistance, and sex steroid hormones with breast cancer risk in the Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anthropometric and biochemical measurements were taken in 60 newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed breast cancer patients and 50 healthy controls. Preoperative serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, insulin, estrogen, and testosterone were measured using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). The data were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The mean serum total cholesterol (T.CHOL) and leptin levels were significantly higher ( P = 0.047), whereas testosterone levels were significantly lower in patients than in controls. Waist circumference (WC) and leptin levels showed a significant positive association with breast cancer risk. Association of serum leptin levels with breast cancer risk persisted after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), and WC parameters (odds ratio [ OR ] = 1.042, P = 0.03). Leptin levels positively correlated with WC and triglycerides (TG), whereas insulin and insulin resistance positively correlated with BMI, WC, TG, and T.CHOL ( P < 0.05). Among the tumor characteristics, serum adiponectin showed a positive correlation with lymph node involvement, whereas serum estradiol levels were positively correlated with ER (estrogen receptor) and PR (progesterone receptor) status. CONCLUSION: Together, our study supports the association of obesity (WC) with breast cancer risk and also suggests the potential role of leptin as a biomarker for breast cancer risk, independent of obesity.

Sestrins: Darkhorse in the regulation of mitochondrial health and metabolism.

Every disease is an outcome of one or more stress signals which get convened at the interface of the mitochondria. Mitochondria and metabolism are inextricably anchored to each other and a disruption in either can result in the generation of stressors, which can lead to detrimental health consequences. Stowing everything in one frame reflects that the proteins involved in the sensing of stressors are fundamental for the initiation of various pathologies and their detailed study is necessary for proper understanding of disease mechanisms. Sestrins, a class of evolutionarily conserved, stress inducible genes are activated by a wide range of stressors such as oxidative, genotoxic, and metabolic and play a role in cellular homeostasis. In addition, recent reports have highlighted their importance in governing the mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism. However, their spectrum of involvement in various pathologies has not been dissected out very well. This review will focus and discuss the role of Sestrins mainly Sestrin2 and associated nexus in the context of mitochondria, metabolism, and health.