Fig. 1.

Crosstalk between adipose and breast cancer cells. Obesity leads to adipocyte hypertrophy, which induces the secretion of inflammatory adipokines, cytokines, and leptin. These adipokines induce polarisation and recruitment of macrophages. Macrophages secrete inflammatory cytokines, which can act on adipocytes to increase the expression of aromatase and oestrogen production and induce the expression of pro-angiogenic factors. Breast cancer cells reprogram adipocytes to induce delipidation and atrophy, transferring lipids to cancer cells, fuelling cancer cell growth, and resulting in increased proliferation, migration, and invasion. Original schematic created in Adobe Illustrator