Association between serum chemerin and breast cancer mediated by lipid metabolism

BACKGROUND: The association between chemerin and breast cancer is unclear. We aimed to clarify the association between serum chemerin levels and breast cancer risk in Chinese women, as well as the effects of lipid metabolism on this association. METHODS: A 1:1 matched case-control study of 160 pairs was conducted using questionnaires to collect data on breast cancer risk factors. Serum chemerin levels were determined. Conditional logistic regression was used to analyze their association with breast cancer risk. A subgroup analysis of menopausal status was performed using unconditional logistic regression. The non-linear dose-response relationship was analyzed using restricted cubic splines. The effect of blood lipids on chemerin and breast cancer were explored using a mediating effect model. RESULTS: Serum chemerin levels of breast cancer patients were higher than those of controls in the overall group and menopausal subgroup. Taking the median of the control group as the cutoff value, women with higher chemerin levels had an increased odds of breast cancer compared to that of those with lower chemerin levels (for overall group: OR = 2.217, 95%CI: 1.125-4.367; for pre-menopausal group: OR = 4.713, 95%CI: 1.454-15.276; for post-menopausal group: OR = 2.103, 95%CI: 1.123-3.936). A linear dose-response relationship between serum chemerin levels and breast cancer odds was identified. The model showed that triglyceride (TG) statistically accounted for part of the association between chemerin and breast cancer (b = 0.034, P = 0.003), explaining approximately 15.0% of the total association. CONCLUSIONS: There is a positive association between chemerin and breast cancer, which may be partly mediated by TG.