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William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, FASCO
William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, FASCO
Posted: Friday, July 22, 2022
New research conducted by scientists at the University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine, and published in the journal Nature Cell, offers a possible biological mechanism linking type 2 diabetes and breast cancer. In fact, breast cancer may suppress the production of insulin, resulting in diabetes, and the impairment of blood sugar control may promote tumor growth. More specifically, extracellular vesicle–mediated impairment of glycemic control may contribute to tumor progression and type 2 diabetes in some patients with breast cancer, the researchers reported.
“[Cancer cells] use more glucose than healthy cells in order to fuel tumor growth, and this has been the basis for PET scans in cancer detection. By increasing blood glucose that can be easily used by cancer cells, breast tumors make their own favorite food and, meanwhile, deprive this essential nutrient from normal cells,” stated Shizhen Emily Wang, PhD, of UC San Diego School of Medicine, in an institutional press release. “These findings support a greater need for diabetes screening and prevention among breast cancer patients and survivors.”
The researchers were able to show that breast cancer–derived extracellular vesicles impaired glucose homeostasis by suppressing pancreatic insulin secretion. They treated groups of female NOD/SCID/IL2Rg-null (NSG) mice with extracellular vesicles derived from MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells or MCF-10A noncancerous cells with twice weekly injections for 5 weeks. The results of the experiment showed that extracellular vesicles from breast tumors suppressed insulin secretion directly, which led to difficulties in glycemic control and promoted tumor growth.
Consequently, the researchers strongly suggest an enhanced awareness of diabetes symptoms, as well as greater diabetes screening, for patients with breast cancer. In the future, these researchers plan to pinpoint more tumor and/or host factors that might explain the relationship between breast cancer and type 2 diabetes. They plan on using this knowledge to discover additional extracellular vesicle–mediated effects on cells and other systemic effects of cancer on the endocrine system.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit nature.com.
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