Insulin and Breast Cancer Risk
Abstract
There is biological evidence that glucose and other factors related to glucose metabolism, such as insulin and insulin-like growth-factors (IGFs) may contribute to breast cancer development. Glucose,may play a direct role in the development of breast cancer by favoring the "selection" of malignant cell clones (1). Neoplastic cells have been shown to extensively utilize glucose for proliferation (I). Increased metabolism of glucose toward the pentose phosphate pathways is one of the central metabolic characteristics of malignant tissues (2). In addition, insulin is a powerful mitogenic agent. In cell culture, insulin induce-s dose-dependent growth response in breast cancer cell lines acting via insulin receptor (3-5). Moreover, insulin may also play a role in tumor promotion by upregulation of ovarian steroid secretion (6,7). Intraportal insulin levels influence IGF-l bioavailability (8). IGF-I is a small peptide (about 7,500 DA) with significant structural homology with proinsulin and insulin (9), and is highly regulated by growth hormone (GM) (10). IGF-I stimulates multiple cellular responses that are related to growth, including synthesis of DNA, RNA, and cellular proteins (11).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADB284009
Entities
People
- Jo L Freudenheim
- Paola C. Muti
- Teresa Quattrin
Organizations
- University at Buffalo