Metabolic Syndrome and Breast Cancer: Prevalence, Treatment Response, and Prognosis

Metabolic syndrome is a type of multifactorial metabolic disease with the presence of at least three factors: obesity, diabetes mellitus, low high-density lipoprotein, hypertriglyceridemia, and hypertension. Recent studies have shown that metabolic syndrome and its related components exert a significant impact on the initiation, progression, treatment response, and prognosis of breast cancer. Metabolic abnormalities not only increase the disease risk and aggravate tumor progression but also lead to unfavorable treatment responses and more treatment side effects. Moreover, biochemical reactions caused by the imbalance of these metabolic components affect both the host general state and organ-specific tumor microenvironment, resulting in increased rates of recurrence and mortality. Therefore, this review discusses the recent advances in the association of metabolic syndrome and breast cancer, providing potential novel therapeutic targets and intervention strategies to improve breast cancer outcome.