Fat Matters: Exploring Cancer Risk through the Lens of Computed Tomography and Visceral Adiposity.
Federico GrecoClaudia Lucia PiccoloValerio D'AndreaArnaldo ScardapaneBruno Beomonte ZobelCarlo Augusto MallioPublished in: Journal of clinical medicine (2024)
Obesity is an established risk factor for cancer. However, conventional measures like body mass index lack precision in assessing specific tissue quantities, particularly of the two primary abdominal fat compartments, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Computed tomography (CT) stands as the gold standard for precisely quantifying diverse tissue types. VAT, distinguished by heightened hormonal and metabolic activity, plays a pivotal role in obesity-related tumor development. Excessive VAT is linked to aberrant secretion of adipokines, proinflammatory cytokines, and growth factors, fostering the carcinogenesis of obesity-related tumors. Accurate quantification of abdominal fat compartments is crucial for understanding VAT as an oncological risk factor. The purpose of the present research is to elucidate the role of CT, performed for staging purposes, in assessing VAT (quantity and distribution) as a critical factor in the oncogenesis of obesity-related tumors. In the field of precision medicine, this work takes on considerable importance, as quantifying VAT in oncological patients becomes fundamental in understanding the influence of VAT on cancer development-the potential "phenotypic expression" of excessive VAT accumulation. Previous studies analyzed in this research showed that VAT is a risk factor for clear cell renal cell carcinoma, non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, and hepatocarcinoma recurrence. Further studies will need to quantify VAT in other oncological diseases with specific mutations or gene expressions, in order to investigate the relationship of VAT with tumor genomics.
Keyphrases
- insulin resistance
- adipose tissue
- computed tomography
- weight gain
- metabolic syndrome
- prostate cancer
- body mass index
- weight loss
- type diabetes
- high fat diet
- high fat diet induced
- radical prostatectomy
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- positron emission tomography
- dual energy
- contrast enhanced
- image quality
- magnetic resonance imaging
- skeletal muscle
- papillary thyroid
- squamous cell carcinoma
- gene expression
- fatty acid
- physical activity
- risk assessment
- lymph node
- lymph node metastasis
- end stage renal disease
- genome wide
- young adults
- copy number
- magnetic resonance
- dna methylation
- single cell
- patient reported outcomes
- peritoneal dialysis
- human health
- transcription factor
- silver nanoparticles