More than 120 million people in the U.S. have diabetes or pre-diabetes. At the same time, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
When a person has both TNBC and diabetes caused by obesity, their chances of survival are worse. A new study by researchers at Boston University helps explain why—and what might be done to help these patients.
Right now, doctors usually treat people with breast cancer the same way, no matter whether they have diabetes or not. But this new study suggests that people with obesity-driven diabetes may need special care because diabetes changes the way breast cancer behaves in the body.
The study was published in the journal Molecular Cancer Research. It shows that insulin resistance—a condition linked to Type 2 diabetes—can make triple-negative breast cancer grow more aggressively and spread to the brain. This discovery could help create better treatments for people with diabetes and aggressive breast cancer.
The research team focused on something called exosomes. These are tiny particles released by fat cells that carry molecules, including microRNAs, to other parts of the body. MicroRNAs help control many processes in the body, like how cells grow or respond to insulin.
The team collected exosomes from fat cells and added them to TNBC cells in the lab. They found that these exosomes made the cancer cells grow faster, move more, and survive better under stress. Most importantly, they made the cancer more likely to spread to the brain.
The scientists then looked at patient data to see if the microRNAs they found were linked to worse outcomes in people with breast cancer. They discovered that the same microRNAs found in lab models were also present in patients with more aggressive forms of cancer, especially those with obesity and diabetes.
This is an important finding because it shows that cancer is not just about the tumor itself—it’s also about what’s going on in the rest of the body. Metabolic conditions like diabetes can make cancer worse. And with more than 537 million people around the world living with obesity-driven diabetes, the problem is growing fast.
Dr. Gerald Denis, the lead author of the study, said that understanding the link between metabolism and cancer could help doctors provide better, more personalized treatments. Instead of treating cancer alone, doctors could also target the health conditions that affect how cancer grows.
This research opens up the possibility of using new strategies to treat aggressive breast cancer, especially in patients who have diabetes. It shows that taking care of overall health—like controlling blood sugar and managing weight—could make a real difference in how well patients respond to cancer treatment.
If you care about breast cancer, please read studies about a major cause of deadly breast cancer, and this daily vitamin is critical to cancer prevention.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies that new cancer treatment could reawaken the immune system, and results showing vitamin D can cut cancer death risk.
The study is published in Molecular Cancer Research.
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