Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Modeling Breast Cancer in Human Breast Tissue using a Microphysiological System
Published on: April 23, 2021
Angiogenesis, adipokines and breast cancer
Linda Vona-Davis1, David P Rose
1Department of Surgery and Breast Cancer Research Program, Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, United States. lvdavis@hsc.wvu.edu
Abstract:
The prevalence of overweight and obesity is rapidly increasing world wide. Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that obesity is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer and relapse. However, the biological factors that drive the growth and progression of these tumors and how obesity contributes to the tumor microenvironment are poorly understood. Tumor development and metastasis are dependent on the process of angiogenesis or the formation of new blood vessels. More importantly, a ready supply of adipose tissue-derived angiogenic adipokines, notably VEGF and leptin, and the production of inflammatory cytokines by infiltrating macrophages that occurs in adipose tissues with obesity, promotes the paracrine stimulation of vascular endothelial cell growth needed for adipogenesis, while maintaining a microenvironment that is favorable for breast tumorigenesis.
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