ArticleNature communications2023
Obesity-associated changes in molecular biology of primary breast cancer.
Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 45 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
45citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
11.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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
45 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of blood lipid levels on breast cancer prognosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Pooled it
- Reporting on patient's body mass index (BMI) in recent clinical trials for patients with breast cancer: a systematic review.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2024Pooled it
- Associations of breast DNA methylation-based measures of biological ageing with obesity-related breast cancer risk markers.Epigenetics · 2026Article
- Senescent obesity signature in breast cancer: a paradigm of reverse cardio-oncology.European heart journal · 2026Review
- Obesity-related Metabolic Dysfunction and Triple-negative Breast Cancer: Epidemiologic Signals, Mechanistic Pathways, and Opportunities for Prevention.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Remodeling the Immune Landscape: How Obesity-Induced SASPs Create a Pro-Tumorigenic Niche.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Methylation of theOncology letters · 2026Article
- Visceral adiposity and breast cancer outcomes: transcriptomic analysis of the tumor microenvironment by intrinsic subtype.Breast cancer research : BCR · 2026Article
- Article
- Mammary gland development and function in maternal obesity and gestational diabetes.Current opinion in physiology · 2026Article
- Genome-wide DNA methylation signatures in blood associated with pediatric obesity.Clinical epigenetics · 2026Article
- Obesity and respiratory diseases: mechanisms, phenotypes, and clinical implications.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2026Review
- Article
- Transient SUMOylation inhibition in human pre-adipocytes stably imprints a transcriptional beiging fate.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in the Impact of Obesity on Immunity.Immunological reviews · 2026Review
- Definition of Sporadic Early-Onset Invasive Solid Organ Cancers in Adults.Oncology and therapy · 2026Article
- Obesity- and tumor-derived signals drive cancer-associated state transitions in breast mesenchymal stromal/stem cells reprogrammed by IL1RA or JAK inhibition.Experimental hematology & oncology · 2026Article
- Exploring the clinical value of quantitative ultrasound scoring method in optimizing the classification of breast BI-RADS category 4a nodules in the Tibetan Plateau region.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Evexomostat (SDX-7320), a methionine aminopeptidase type 2 inhibitor, stimulates weight loss and inhibits obesity-accelerated tumor growth.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Obesity is a major modifiable factor associated with ER-negative breast cancer: epidemiological and mechanistic evidence from a high-risk cohort.Breast cancer research : BCR · 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
60 authors at 20 institutions in 14 countries.
Ha-Linh NguyenLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-2538-7657
Tatjana GeukensLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Marion MaetensLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Samuel AparicioDepartment of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-0487-9599
Ayse BassezLaboratory for Translational Genetics, Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Ake BorgDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Division of Oncology and Pathology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5793-132X
Jane BrockDepartment of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Annegien BroeksDepartments of Core Facility, Molecular Pathology and Biobanking, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Carlos CaldasCancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Department of Oncology, Li Ka Shing Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3547-1489
Fatima CardosoBreast Unit, Champalimaud Clinical Center/Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.ORCID 0000-0002-6692-2249
Maxim De SchepperLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0001-9829-8535
Mauro DelorenziDepartment of Oncology, University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland.
Caroline A DrukkerDepartment of Surgical Oncology, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Annuska M GlasAgendia, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-0775-138X
Andrew R GreenNottingham Breast Cancer Research Centre, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0488-5913
Edoardo IsnaldiLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-1055-7254
Jórunn EyfjörðBioMedical Center, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland.
Hazem KhoutDepartment of Breast Surgery, Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK.
Stian KnappskogDepartment of Clinical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.ORCID 0000-0002-4153-1655
Savitri KrishnamurthyDepartment of Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Sunil R LakhaniUQ Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1879-2555
Anita LangerodDepartment of Cancer Genetics, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital, Ullernchausseen, Oslo, Norway.
John W M MartensDepartment of Medical Oncology and Cancer Genomics Netherlands, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-3428-3366
Amy E McCart ReedUQ Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5387-2791
Leigh MurphyUniversity of Manitoba and Cancer Care Manitoba Research Institute, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Stefan NaulaertsLaboratory of Cell Stress & Immunity, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-1880-6374
Serena Nik-ZainalDepartment of Medical Genetics, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5054-1727
Ines NevelsteenDepartment of Surgical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Patrick NevenDepartment of Gynecological Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Martine PiccartInstitut Jules Bordet and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0001-9068-8504
Coralie PoncetEuropean Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
Kevin PunieDepartment of General Medical Oncology and Multidisciplinary Breast Unit, Leuven Cancer Institute and University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Colin PurdieDepartment of Pathology, University of Dundee, NHS Tayside, Dundee, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1258-4010
Emad A RakhaDivision of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Andrea RichardsonJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Emiel RutgersDepartment of Surgical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Anne Vincent-SalomonDiagnostic and Theranostic Medicine Division, Institut Curie, PSL Research University, Paris, France.ORCID 0000-0001-5754-5771
Peter T SimpsonUQ Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4816-8289
Marjanka K SchmidtDivision of Molecular Pathology, Netherlands Cancer Institute-Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-2228-429X
Christos SotiriouInstitut Jules Bordet, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-5745-9977
Paul N SpanDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-1930-6638
Kiat Tee Benita TanDepartment of General Surgery, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Alastair ThompsonDepartment of Surgery, Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Stefania TommasiMolecular Diagnostics and Pharmacogenetics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Tumouri "Giovanni Paolo II", Bari, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-2157-2978
Karen Van BaelenLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Marc Van de VijverDepartment of Pathology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Cancer Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Steven Van LaereCenter for Oncological Research (CORE), Integrated Personalized and Precision Oncology Network (IPPON), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Laura Van't VeerDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9838-8298
Giuseppe VialeDivision of Pathology, IEO, European Institute of Oncology IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Alain ViariSynergie Lyon Cancer, Plateforme de Bio-informatique 'Gilles Thomas', Lyon, France.
Hanne VosDepartment of Surgical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-4629-4812
Anke T WitteveenAgendia, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Hans WildiersDepartment of General Medical Oncology and Multidisciplinary Breast Unit, Leuven Cancer Institute and University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0001-8990-7837
Giuseppe FlorisDepartment of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-2391-5425
Abhishek D GargLaboratory of Cell Stress & Immunity, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-9976-9922
Ann SmeetsDepartment of Surgical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-5091-6602
Diether LambrechtsLaboratory for Translational Genetics, Department of Human Genetics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-3429-302X
Elia BiganzoliUnit of Medical Statistics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (DIBIC) "L. Sacco" & DSRC, LITA Vialba campus, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-1202-5873
François RichardLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-4353-3619
Christine DesmedtLaboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. christine.desmedt@kuleuven.be.ORCID 0000-0002-5223-5579
KU Leuven · BEThe Netherlands Cancer Institute · NLThe University of Queensland · AUAgendia (Netherlands) · NLUniversité Libre de Bruxelles · BEUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of Milan · ITUniversity of Nottingham · GBVIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology · BEAmsterdam University Medical Centers · NLBaylor College of Medicine · USBreast Cancer Research Foundation · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USCancerCare Manitoba · CAChampalimaud Foundation · PTErasmus MC · NLEuropean Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer · BEGlenfield Hospital · GBHaukeland University Hospital · NOIstituto Tumori Bari · IT
Funding
Cancer Research UKDepartment of HealthWellcome TrustWellcome Trust 077012/Z/05/Z
Abstract
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer (BC) and worse prognosis in BC patients, yet its impact on BC biology remains understudied in humans. This study investigates how the biology of untreated primary BC differs according to patients' body mass index (BMI) using data from >2,000 patients. We identify several genomic alterations that are differentially prevalent in overweight or obese patients compared to lean patients. We report evidence supporting an ageing accelerating effect of obesity at the genetic level. We show that BMI-associated differences in bulk transcriptomic profile are subtle, while single cell profiling allows detection of more pronounced changes in different cell compartments. These analyses further reveal an elevated and unresolved inflammation of the BC tumor microenvironment associated with obesity, with distinct characteristics contingent on the estrogen receptor status. Collectively, our analyses imply that obesity is associated with an inflammaging-like phenotype. We conclude that patient adiposity may play a significant role in the heterogeneity of BC and should be considered for BC treatment tailoring.
Indexed as
Breast NeoplasmsFemaleGenomicsHumansMolecular BiologyObesityOverweightTumor Microenvironment
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390
Registered trials
None linked
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 OpenQuestion graph.