INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Obesity, an excess accumulation of adipose tissue occurring in mammalians when caloric intake exceeds energy expenditure, is associated with an increased incidence, morbidity and mortality from several types of neoplastic diseases including postmenopausal breast cancer.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Several investigators have recently studied the role of human white adipose tissue (WAT) progenitors in preclinical models of breast cancer. WAT progenitors were found to promote breast cancer local growth, angiogenesis, EMT, migration and metastatic spreading. Breast cancer patients with intraepithelial neoplasia who received autologous WAT cells for breast reconstruction after surgical removal of breast cancer showed an increased risk of recurrence of local events when compared to controls.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: There is an urgent need for a better understanding of the role of WAT progenitors in breast cancer local and metastatic growth. A rigorous cancer screening and follow-up of patients enrolled for WAT progenitor-based therapies should be implemented.