Complex Interplay Between Obesity and BRCA1/2-Associated Breast Cancer: An Overview

The steadily increasing prevalence of obesity and its association with a growing number of malignancies, including breast cancer, has made this disease spectrum an urgent and critical public health priority, demanding immediate attention and comprehensive action. To date, a growing body of research has been dedicated to the study of obesity/breast cancer biological link, with the most well-documented mechanisms involving chronic inflammation, altered adipokine levels, dysregulated hormone signaling, and insulin/growth factor pathways. Despite significant progress, a substantial gap persists in our present comprehension of the association between adiposity and breast cancer biology in individuals with mutations in the BRCA1/2 genes, the most widely known high-penetrance genes involved in severe breast cancer risk. In this review, we first give an overview of the contribution of BRCA1/2 gene mutations in breast cancer development. Then, we discuss the emerging mechanistic evidence linking obesity with breast cancer, highlighting the impact of metabolic and hormonal factors in BRCA mutation carriers. Insights into the cross-talk between obesity and breast cancer development in BRCA mutation carriers may pave the way to improve proper personalized clinical management of BRCA1/2-associated breast cancer.