Abstract
The association between obesity, cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been demonstrated in animal and epidemiological studies. However, the specific role of visceral obesity on cancer and CVD remains unclear. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a complex and metabolically active tissue, that can produce different adipokines and hormones, responsible for endocrine-metabolic comorbidities. This review explores the potential mechanisms related to VAT that may also be involved in cancer and CVD. In addition, we discuss the shared pharmacological treatments which may reduce the risk of both diseases. This review highlights that chronic inflammation, molecular aspects, metabolic syndrome, secretion of hormones and adiponectin associated to VAT may have synergistic effects and should be further studied in relation to cancer and CVD. Reductions in abdominal and visceral adiposity improve insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and cytokines, which consequently reduce the risk of CVD and some cancers. Several medications have shown to reduce visceral and/or subcutaneous fat. Further research is needed to investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms by which visceral obesity may cause both cancer and CVD. The role of visceral fat in cancer and CVD is an important area to advance. Public health policies to increase public awareness about VAT’s role and ways to manage or prevent it are needed.
Highlights
Visceral obesity is a type of body fat deposition in the upper part of the body and within the abdominal cavity
Chronic inflammation and dysregulated metabolism associated to visceral obesity, such as insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia can affect both cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer development and progression
Reductions in abdominal and visceral adiposity improve insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and cytokines, which reduce the risk of CVD and some cancer types
Summary
Visceral obesity is a type of body fat deposition in the upper part of the body and within the abdominal cavity. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a complex and metabolically active tissue, which can produce different adipokines and hormones responsible for endocrine-metabolic comorbidities It is associated with increased adipocytokine production, proinflammatory activity and altered blood lipids levels as well as with decreased HDL cholesterol [1]. The association between obesity, cancer and CVD has been established in a multitude of animal and epidemiological studies [5,8] Research on this topic is focusing on the role of VAT on carcinogenesis and development of CVD, which may involve alterations in immunological, metabolic and endocrinal pathways. The activation of aforementioned pathways increases the synthesis and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 Along with their role in chronic inflammation, IL-6 and TNF-α contribute to other mechanistic effects on cancer development. ROS trigger potentially oncogenic signal transduction cascades including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling [29]
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