부산대학교 도서관

Links between obesity and breast cancer could result from the action of adipokines produced by adipocytes. Among these adipokines, leptin appears to have an important role. The presence of its receptors on breast cancer cells shows that it can act directly on these cells: it is able to stimulate their proliferation. There are three distinct modes of action through endocrine-, paracrine-, and autocrine-mediated pathways. Moreover, leptin would appear to be able to counteract anti-estrogenic treatments. These observations suggest that it could be of therapeutic interest to target leptin in breast cancer.