Hormones, including adipokines, are significant risk factors for the development of various cancers. Adipokines, also known as adipocytokines, are hormones synthesized by adipose tissue that play a crucial role in various metabolic and cellular processes. The aberrant expression of these hormones during obesity significantly contributes to chronic inflammation, insulin resistance, dysregulated lipid metabolism, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. This large group of cytokines interacts with multiple organs throughout the human body, including the breast, lungs, colon, and prostate gland. Leptin and resistin, two prominent adipokines, are particularly noteworthy for their role in activating cell survival and proliferative signaling pathways. Conversely, adiponectin overexpression exerts tumor-suppressive effects by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In this review, we examine the role of adipocytokines in the growth and progression of malignancies across human and murine cancer models. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that mediate adipokine signaling in carcinogenesis is not only essential for fundamental research but could also lead to the development of novel therapeutic strategies for individuals at an elevated risk of cancer.
Khathayer et al. (Thu,) studied this question.