SynthesisJournal of physiology and biochemistry2025
Mechanisms underlying obesity-malignancy connection: a systematic narrative review.
Synthesis in Journal of physiology and biochemistry, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Intentional Weight Loss and Associated Cancer Incidence Among People With Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Literature Review.Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of bariatric surgery timing on breast cancer incidence: Real-world evidence from TriNetX.Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2026Article
- The Role of Gut Microbiota in the Pathogenesis of Obesity and Food Addiction: The Importance of the Gut-Brain Axis and the Dopaminergic System.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Single-cell transcriptomics reveals lipid metabolism reprogramming in macrophages in vitro during early stages of Leishmania donovani infection.Parasites & vectors · 2026Article
- Obesity and melanoma: unraveling the paradoxical survival benefit in immunotherapy.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2026Review
- Obesity and Cancer: Mechanisms, Epidemiological Evidence, and Potential Risk Reduction.Journal of obesity & metabolic syndrome · 2026Review
- Obesity-induced metabolic reprogramming of the tumor immune microenvironment: mechanisms, spatial niches, and immunotherapy response.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Ferroptosis and head and neck cancer: Mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Effectiveness of sustained leisure-time physical activity strategies for obesity-related cancer prevention: an emulated target trial in a prospective US cohort.BMC medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The association between obesity and cancer risk carries substantial public health ramifications as obesity promotes cancer advancement via many cellular and molecular mechanisms. This study utilizes Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and narrative systematic review guidelines to evaluate 221 research articles selected from an initial collection of 1,288 publications sourced from multiple databases. Obesity-driven cancer risk is linked to hormonal imbalances including increased oestrogen levels that heighten the likelihood of breast and endometrial cancers, and insulin resistance that activates the insulin/ Insulin and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) pathway promoting colorectal cancer progression. Chronic low-grade inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, and hypoxia in expanding adipose tissue contribute to pancreatic, oesophageal, colorectal, renal, and liver malignancies. Recent research has identified novel mechanisms that drive obesity-induced cancer progression. The adipose tissue secretome, extracellular vesicle-mediated lipid and RNA transfer, ferroptosis resistance, and metabolic reprogramming via Cluster of Differentiation 36 (CD36), Fatty Acid Binding Protein 4 (FABP4), and Carnitine Palmitoyl transferase 1A (CPT1A) create a tumour-permissive microenvironment. Obesity-induced epigenetic memory sustains cancer risk even after weight loss through persistent histone modifications (Histone H3 Lysine 4 Trimethylation (H3K4me3), Histone H3 Lysine 27 Trimethylation (H3K27me3), DNA methylation, and RNA modifications, particularly through the Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated (FTO) gene. Additionally, organ and cell size expansion increase mutation susceptibility. Emerging pathways including the Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)-Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) axis, PR Domain Zinc Finger Protein 16 (PRDM16)/Uncoupling Protein 1 (UCP1) inhibition, Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3)-driven FABP4 upregulation, and Yes-Associated Protein (YAP)/Transcriptional Co-Activator with PDZ-Binding Motif (TAZ) signalling, further highlight obesity's role in oncogenesis. Future research should investigate weight-loss drugs' effects on cancer pathways, expand demographic diversity, and develop biomarkers for adiposity. Integrating Mendelian randomization, multi-omics, and artificial intelligence could reveal novel therapeutic targets. A comprehensive prevention strategy combining lifestyle interventions, pharmacological therapies, and biomarker-driven diagnostics is crucial to reducing obesity-related cancer burden and improving patient outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40408050What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.