Serum Adipocytokines (Visfatin and Resistin): New Biomarkers of Breast Carcinogenesis

Background: recent epidemiological studies demonstrate that obesity is associatedwith an increased risk for breast cancer in women. increased estrogen levels aresuggested as one possible explanation, but this does not fully explain the relationshipbetween obesity and breast cancer. one alternative explanation is secretion by adipocytesof metabolites, hormones and cytokines, collectively known as adipocytokines, whichregulate physiological and pathological processes. among these adipokines are visfatinand resistin. this study investigates whether visfatin or resistin in serum of breast cancerpatients can be used as potential diagnostic and prognostic tools for breast cancer, takinginto account clinicopathological features and anthropometric parameters.methods: blood samples were collected from 70 breast cancer patients (35 obeseand 35 non-obese) and 20 healthy females matched for age and body mass index asthe control group. serum visfatin levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbentassay and serum resistin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. inflammatorystatus was assessed by measuring c-reactive protein levels by an automated turbidimetricanalyzer.results: we observed highly elevated serum resistin and visfatin levels in breastcancer patients compared to controls, independent of body mass index. serum resistinand visfatin levels were likely to be associated with increased breast cancer risk andcorrelated with the inflammatory marker c-reactive protein.conclusion: targeting resistin and visfatin inhibition can be an effective therapeuticstrategy in breast cancer by downregulating the inflammatory microenvironment in breasttissue. serum visfatin promises to be a novel biomarker of diagnostic and prognosticvalue. larger prospective studies are required to confirm our findings.