Figure 1.

The link between adipose-induced inflammation and cancer. Adipose tissue dysfunction is associated with sustained low-grade inflammation and it may be linked to breast cancer development and progression. Several inflammatory mediators are implicated in tumor development and progression. Possibly as a result of the sustained inflammatory signaling having downstream effects on major pathways involved in angiogenesis, cell-proliferation and apoptosis, thus having the ability to influence carcinogenesis. Hypoxia in adipose tissue also induces the release of inflammatory mediators, thus further exacerbating inflammation. Apn, adiponectin; IL-6, interleukin-6; HIF-1α, hypoxia inducible factor-1α; MAPK, mitogen activated protein kinase; NFκB, nuclear factor kappa B; PI3K/Akt, phosphoinositide-3-kinase; STAT-3, Signal transducer and activator of transcription-3; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α.