Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, with aggressive forms such as triple-negative breast cancer increasingly affecting women under 40, according to the American Cancer Society. Now, a groundbreaking study reveals that Type 2 Diabetes, a rapidly growing lifestyle disease, may worsen breast cancer outcomes by altering the body’s immune response.
How Diabetes Impacts Tumor Growth
Researchers from Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine have discovered a crucial link between Type 2 Diabetes and accelerated breast cancer progression. Their study explains how the metabolic disorder affects tiny blood particles called exosomes, which communicate with immune cells within tumors.
In patients with Type 2 Diabetes, exosomes are altered in a way that reprograms immune cells, weakening the body’s natural defenses. This impaired immune response allows tumors to grow and spread more rapidly, making treatment more challenging. The findings, published in Springer Nature, represent the first study to directly connect exosomes from diabetic patients to suppressed immune activity in human breast