Case-cohort analysis of inflammatory biomarkers and risk of postmenopausal estrogen-positive breast cancer

The role of systemic inflammation in postmenopausal breast carcinogenesis is not clear. A case-cohort study within the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (Australia) investigated the effects of circulating inflammatory biomarkers on the risk of postmenopausal estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. The study included 1223 females (347 cases) who were postmenopausal at blood collection. The risk of postmenopausal ER-positive breast cancer increased per doubling in blood concentrations of leptin (RR 1.13; 95% CI 1.03-1.25), adiponectin (1.10; 0.90-1.34), tumor necrosis factor alfa (1.27; 0.96-1.68), and interleukin-10 (1.14; 1.01-1.29). The RR for doubling of the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio was 1.07 (95% CI 0.99-1.16). There were no significant association with other biomarkers (interferon-gamma, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and C-reactive protein). The authors conclude that systemic inflammation may be important in the risk of developing postmenopausal ER-positive breast cancer (graphical abstract).