Diabetes fuels more aggressive breast cancers – Study

Researchers are warning that diabetes, a rapidly growing lifestyle disease, can fuel aggressive breast cancer tumours due to tiny particles present in the blood, known as exosomes, which are altered by diabetes.

They reported that these tiny particles reprogramme immune cells within tumours, weakening them and allowing the cancer to grow and spread more easily.Researchers are warning that diabetes, a rapidly growing lifestyle disease, can fuel aggressive breast cancer tumours due to tiny particles present in the blood, known as exosomes, which are altered by diabetes.

They reported that these tiny particles reprogramme immune cells within tumours, weakening them and allowing the cancer to grow and spread more easily.

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This discovery not only sheds light on the deadly overlap of two common diseases but also opens new doors for personalised cancer treatments. Both type 2 diabetes and breast cancer are on the rise worldwide. Particularly, the aggressive breast cancer cases are more common in women under 40.

Women with type 2 diabetes are 20 to 30 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer, and once diagnosed, they are more likely to die from it compared with women without diabetes.

Researchers from Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine found that tiny particles in the blood, known as exosomes, which are altered by diabetes, can reprogram immune cells inside tumours, making them weaker and allowing the cancer to grow and spread more easily.

The groundbreaking study, which is poised to reshape the understanding of breast cancer progression, also suggested that this could explain why people with type 2 obesity-driven diabetes tend to have more aggressive breast cancers.

Millions of people globally are diabetic or prediabetic, yet if they develop cancer, they are not treated differently in any significant way by the standards of treatment in oncology. Thus, this work addresses a serious public health challenge.

The corresponding author for the study, Professor Gerald Denis at Boston University, said breast cancer is already challenging to treat, and people with type 2 diabetes have worse outcomes, but clinicians don’t fully understand why.

This discovery not only sheds light on the deadly overlap of two common diseases but also opens new doors for personalised cancer treatments. Both type 2 diabetes and breast cancer are on the rise worldwide. Particularly, the aggressive breast cancer cases are more common in women under 40.

Women with type 2 diabetes are 20 to 30 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer, and once diagnosed, they are more likely to die from it compared with women without diabetes.

Researchers from Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine found that tiny particles in the blood, known as exosomes, which are altered by diabetes, can reprogram immune cells inside tumours, making them weaker and allowing the cancer to grow and spread more easily.

The groundbreaking study, which is poised to reshape the understanding of breast cancer progression, also suggested that this could explain why people with type 2 obesity-driven diabetes tend to have more aggressive breast cancers.

Millions of people globally are diabetic or prediabetic, yet if they develop cancer, they are not treated differently in any significant way by the standards of treatment in oncology. Thus, this work addresses a serious public health challenge.

The corresponding author for the study, Professor Gerald Denis at Boston University, said breast cancer is already challenging to treat, and people with type 2 diabetes have worse outcomes, but clinicians don’t fully understand why.

Denis declared, “Our study reveals one possible reason: diabetes changes the way the immune system works inside tumours. This could help explain why current treatments, like immunotherapy, don’t work as well in patients with diabetes. Knowing this can help to open the door to better and more personalised treatments for millions of people.”

In the study, researchers used tumour samples from breast cancer patients to grow 3D tumour models in the laboratory to understand how immune cells found in the tumour behave in the patients.

Known as patient-derived organoids, these models contain the immune cells originally found in the tumour. These mini tumours were treated with blood exosomes from people with and without diabetes, but also without any cancer.

Currently, future possibilities include developing drugs that block harmful exosomes, preventing them from reprogramming immune cells, and earlier screenings and closer monitoring of women with diabetes who face a higher risk of aggressive cancers.

Until such therapies arrive, doctors emphasise prevention and management. Keeping blood sugar under control, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, and eating a balanced diet remain the most effective ways to reduce risks.