Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Dec 15;3(1):22-34.
doi: 10.1007/s13668-013-0069-8. eCollection 2014.

The Influence of Energetic Factors on Biomarkers of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk

Heather K Neilson  1 , Shannon M Conroy  1 , Christine M Friedenreich  2
Affiliations
Review

The Influence of Energetic Factors on Biomarkers of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk

Heather K Neilson et al. Curr Nutr Rep. .

Abstract

Strong and consistent evidence exists that physical activity reduces breast cancer risk by 10-25 %, and several proposed biologic mechanisms have now been investigated in randomized, controlled, exercise intervention trials. Leading hypothesized mechanisms relating to postmenopausal breast cancer include adiposity, endogenous sex hormones, insulin resistance, and chronic low-grade inflammation. In addition, other pathways are emerging as potentially important, including those involving oxidative stress and telomere length, global DNA hypomethylation, immune function, and vitamin D exposure. Recent exercise trials in overweight/obese postmenopausal women implicate weight loss as a mechanism whereby exercise induces favorable changes in circulating estradiol levels and other biomarkers as well. Still it is plausible that some exercise-induced biomarker changes do not require loss of body fat, whereas others depend on abdominal fat loss. We highlight the latest findings from randomized, controlled trials of healthy postmenopausal women, relating exercise to proposed biomarkers for postmenopausal breast cancer risk.

Keywords: Adiposity; Biomarkers; Biomechanisms; Breast cancer; Estrogen; Exercise; Physical activity; Postmenopausal women; Randomized trials; Sex hormones; Weight loss.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Heather K. Neilson, Shannon M. Conroy, and Christine M. Friedenreich declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Hypothesized biological model relating physical activity to postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Strong epidemiologic evidence of an association with breast cancer risk (solid black arrows); limited epidemiologic evidence (irregular dashed arrows ); emerging epidemiologic evidence (short dashed arrows). Grey arrows relating biomarkers to each other are proposed in the literature; some of these relations are hypothesized, whereas others are well-established. Adapted from [11]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington, DC: World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research; 2007.
    1. Renehan AG, Tyson M, Egger M, et al. Body-mass index and incidence of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. Lancet. 2008;371(9612):569–578. - PubMed
    1. Suzuki R, Orsini N, Saji S, et al. Body weight and incidence of breast cancer defined by estrogen and progesterone receptor status: a meta-analysis. Int J Cancer. 2009;124(3):698–712. - PubMed
    1. Niraula S, Ocana A, Ennis M, Goodwin PJ. Body size and breast cancer prognosis in relation to hormone receptor and menopausal status: a meta-analysis. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012;134(2):769–781. - PubMed
    1. Patterson RE, Cadmus LA, Emond JA, Pierce JP. Physical activity, diet, adiposity and female breast cancer prognosis: a review of the epidemiologic literature. Maturitas. 2010;66(1):5–15. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources