Role of adipose tissue in the development and progression of colorectal cancer

Moskalenko R.A.; Korneva Yu.S.

doi:https://doi.org/10.17116/patol20198101152

Close metadata

Recommended articles:

Heterogeneity of mismatch repair protein expression in tumors. Russian Journal of Archive of Pathology. 2026;(1):73-79

Comparative analysis of longitudinal and transverse minilaparotomy during colon cancer surgery. Pirogov Russian Journal of Surgery. 2025;(4):71-78

Ergospirometry for preoperative risk assessment in patients with colorectal cancer. Russian Journal of Anesthesiology and Reanimatology. 2025;(3):70-77

Interleukin-6 as a biochemical marker of intestinal anastomotic leakage. Pirogov Russian Journal of Surgery. 2025;(9):87-93

Anomaly of inferior mesenteric vein anatomy in a patient with sigmoid colon cancer. Pirogov Russian Journal of Surgery. 2025;(12):151-155

Morphological analysis of biomaterials obtained through micronization of adipose tissue. Pirogov Russian Journal of Surgery. 2025;(11-2):38-45

Transanal endoscopic and robot-assisted microsurgery for rectal tumors. Pirogov Russian Journal of Surgery. 2026;(1):26-32

Prognostic factors for the effectiveness of transarterial chemoembolization in patients with secondary liver tumors. P.A. Herzen Journal of Oncology. 2026;(1):5-10

Ibuprofen combined with low-molecular-weight heparin does not affect hemostasis system in patients undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. Russian Journal of Anesthesiology and Reanimatology. 2026;(1):52-56

Predictors of perforation following colorectal stenting in patients with acute intestinal obstruction. Pirogov Russian Journal of Surgery. 2026;(3):33-40

Abstract:

The paper gives the current data available in the literature on the relationship and pathogenetic mechanisms of influence of adipose tissue on colorectal carcinogenesis. It considers the aspects of changes in adipose tissue and microenvironment of the tumor itself, including those under the influence of biologically active substances secreted by adipocytes; differences in subcutaneous and visceral fat and their importance in the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC), as well as the role of adipose tissue-derived stem cells. Understanding these mechanisms for adipose tissue influence on CRC will assist not only in preventing this disease, but also in searching for new therapeutic targets.

Keywords:

colorectal cancer

adipose tissue

visceral fat

adipose tissue-derived stem cells

Authors:

Moskalenko R.A.

Medical Institute, Sumy State University, Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, Sumy, Ukraine

Korneva Yu.S.

Smolensk Regional Institute of Pathology, Smolensk, Russia;
Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education 'Smolensk State Medical University' of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, Smolensk, Russia

SPIN RSCI: 5169-7740
Scopus AuthorID: 56657493900
ResearcherID: P-5372-2017
ORCID: 0000-0002-8080-904X

Close metadata

References:

Smith KB, Smith MS. Obesity statistics. Prim Care. 2016;43(1):121-135, ix. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2015.10.001
Berger NA. Obesity and cancer pathogenesis. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2014;1311:57-76. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12416
De Pergola G, Silvestris F. Obesity as a major risk factor for cancer. J Obes. 2013;2013:291546. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/291546
Bardou M, Barkun AN, Martel M. Obesity and colorectal cancer. Gut. 2013;62(6):933-947.
Wen YA, Xing X, Harris JW, Zaytseva YY, Mitov MI, Napier DL, et al. Adipocytes activate mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and autophagy to promote tumor growth in colon cancer. Cell Death Dis. 2017;8(2):e2593. https://doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2017.21
Nieman KM, Romero IL, Van Houten B, Lengyel E. Adipose tissue and adipocytes support tumorigenesis and metastasis. Biochim Biophys Acta.2013;1831(10):1533-1541.
Strong AL, Burow ME, Gimble JM, Bunnell BA. Concise review: The obesity cancer paradigm: exploration of the interactions and crosstalk with adipose stem cells. Stem Cells. 2015;33(2):318-326.
Trayhurn P. Hypoxia and adipocyte physiology: implications for adipose tissue dysfunction in obesity. Annu Rev Nutr. 2014;34:207-236. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071812-161156
Zoico E, Rizzatti V, Darra E, Budui SL, Franceschetti G, Vinante F, et al. Morphological and functional changes in the peritumoral adipose tissue of colorectal cancer patients. Obesity. 2017; 25(2):S87-S94. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22008
Tabuso M, Homer-Vanniasinkam S, Adya R, Arasaradnam RP. Role of tissue microenvironment resident adipocytes in colon cancer. World J Gastroenterol. 2017;23(32):5829-5835.
Kobayashi H, Ouchi, N, Kihara S, Walsh K, Kumada M, Abe Y, Funahashi T, Matsuzawa Y. Selective suppression of endothelial cell apoptosis by the high molecular weight form of adiponectin. Circ Res. 2004;94(4):e27-e31.
Iyengar NM, Hudis CA, Dannenberg AJ. Obesity and cancer: local and systemic mechanisms. Annu Rev Med. 2015;66:297-309.
van Kruijsdijk RC, van der Wall E, Visseren FL. Obesity and cancer: the role of dysfunctional adipose tissue. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009;18(10):2569-2578.
Schwartz B, Yehuda-Shnaidman E. Putative role of adipose tissue in growth and metabolism of colon cancer cells. Front Oncol. 2014; 4:164. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2014.00164
Yunusova NV, Kondakova IV, Kolomiets LA, Afanasiev SG, Chernyshova AL, Shatokhina OV, Frolova AE, Zhiwei Zh, Wei W. Serum adipokines and their receptors in endometrial and colon cancer patients: relationship with tumor invasion and metastasis. Voprosy onkologii. 2015;61(4):619-623. (In Russ.)
Delort L, Rossary A, Farges MC, Vasson MP, Caldefie-Chézet F. Leptin, adipocytes and breast cancer: Focus on inflammation and anti-tumour immunity. Life Sci. 2015;140:37-48.
Bartucci M, Svensson S, Ricci-Vitiani L, Dattilo R, Biffoni M, Signore M, et al. Obesity hormone leptin induces growth and interferes with the cytotoxic effects of 5-fluorouracil in colorectal tumor stem cells. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2010;17(3):823-833.
Amor S, Iglesias-de la Cruz MC, Ferrero E, García-Villar O, Barrios V, Fernandez N, et al. Peritumoral adipose tissue as a source of inflammatory and angiogenic factors in colorectal cancer. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2016;31(2):365-375.
Adya R, Tan BK, Randeva HS. Differential effects of leptin and adiponectin in endothelial angiogenesis. J Diabetes Res. 2015;2015: 648239. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/648239
Hefetz-Sela S, Scherer PE. Adipocytes: impact on tumor growth and potential sites for therapeutic intervention. Pharmacol Ther. 2013;138(2):197-210.
Hoda MR, Keely SJ, Bertelsen LS, Junger WG, Dharmasena D, Barrett KE. Leptin acts as a mitogenic and antiapoptotic factor for colonic cancer cells. Br J Surg. 2007;94(3):346-354.
Amemori S, Ootani A, Aoki S, Fujise T, Shimoda R, Kakimoto T, et al. Adipocytes and preadipocytes promote the proliferation of colon cancer cells in vitro. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2007;292(3):923-929.
Trevellin E, Scarpa M, Carraro A, Lunardi F, Kotsafti A, Porzionato A, et al. Esophageal adenocarcinoma and obesity: peritumoral adipose tissue plays a role in lymph node invasion. Oncotarget. 2015;6(13):11203-11215. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.3587
Kawashima K, Maeda K, Saigo C, Kito Y, Yoshida K, Takeuchi T. Adiponectin and Intelectin-1: Important Adipokine Players in Obesity-Related Colorectal Carcinogenesis. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(4).pii:E866. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18040866
Otani K, Ishihara S, Yamaguchi H, Murono K, Yasuda K, Nishikawa T, et al. Adiponectin and colorectal cancer. Surg Today. 2017;47(2):151-158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-016-1334-4
Byeon JS, Jeong JY, Kim MJ, Lee SM, Nam WH, Myung SJ, et al. Adiponectin and adiponectin receptor in relation to colorectal cancer progression. Int J Cancer. 2010;127(12):2758-2767.
Adya R, Tan BK, Punn A, Chen J, Randeva HS. Visfatin induces human endothelial VEGF and MMP-2/9 production via MAPK and PI3K/Akt signalling pathways: novel insights into visfatin-induced angiogenesis. Cardiovasc Res. 2008;78(2):356-365.
Huang WS, Chen CN, Sze CI, Teng CC. Visfatin induces stromal cell-derived factor-1 expression by β1 integrin signaling in colorectal cancer cells. J Cell Physiol. 2013;228(5):1017-1024.
Erdogan S, Yilmaz FM, Yazici O, Yozgat A, Sezer S, Ozdemir N, et al. Inflammation and chemerin in colorectal cancer. Tumour Biol. 2016;37(5):6337-6342.
Ogino S, Chan AT, Fuchs CS, Giovannucci E. Molecular pathological epidemiology of colorectal neoplasia: an emerging transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary field. Gut. 2011;60(3):397-411.
Comaills V, Kabeche L, Morris R, Buisson R, Yu M, Madden MW, et al. Genomic instability is induced by persistent proliferation of cells undergoing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Cell Rep. 2016;17(10):2632-2647.
Gomez-Perez SL, Chaudhry V, Mar W, Patel B, Fantuzzi G, Freels S, et al. Impact of abdominal adipose depots and race on risk for colorectal cancer: a case-control study. Nutr Cancer. 2017;69(4):573-579.
Liesenfeld DB, Grapov D, Fahrmann JF, Salou M, Scherer D, Toth R, et al. Metabolomics and transcriptomics identify pathway differences between visceral and subcutaneous adiposetissue in colorectal cancer patients: the ColoCare study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;102(2):433-443. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.114.103804
Felländer G, Nordenström J, Tjäder I, Bolinder J, Arner P. Lipolysis during abdominal surgery. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1994;78(1):150-155. https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.78.1.828869
Yoon HJ, Kim BS, Lee KE, Moon CM, Yoo J, Kim JS, Kim Y. Glucose metabolism of visceral adipose tissue measured by 18F-FDG PET/CT is related to the presence of colonic adenoma. Medicine(Baltimore). 2017;96(25):e7156.
Giuliani A, Ferrara F, Scimò M, Angelico F, Olivieri L, Basso L. Adipose tissue fatty acid composition and colon cancer: a case-control study. Eur J Nutr. 2014;53(4):1029-1037.
Greenberg AS, Obin MS. Obesity and the role of adipose tissue in inﬂammation and metabolism. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;83(2): 461s- 465s.
Gonçalves P, Magro F, Martel F. Metabolic inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease: crosstalk between adipose tissue and bowel. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2015;21(2):453-467.
Dias CB, Milanski M, Portovedo M, Horita V, Ayrizono Mde L, Planell N, et al. Defective apoptosis in intestinal and mesenteric adipose tissue of Crohn’s disease patients. PLoS One. 2014;9(6): e98547. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098547
Baglioni S, Francalanci M, Squecco R, Lombardi A, Cantini G, Angeli R, et al. Characterization of human adult stem-cell populations isolated from visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue. FASEB J. 2009;23(10):3494-3505.
Dominici M, Le Blanc K, Mueller I, Slaper-Cortenbach I, Marini F, Krause D, et al. Minimal criteria for deŸning multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells. The International Society for Cellular Therapy position statement. Cytotherapy. 2006;8(4):315-317.
Ritter A, Friemel A, Fornoff F, Adjan M, Solbach C, Yuan J, et al. Characterization of adipose-derived stem cells from subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues and their function in breast cancer cells. Oncotarget. 2015;6(33):34475-34493.
Schweizer R, Tsuji W, Gorantla VS, Marra KG, Rubin JP, Plock JA. The role of adipose-derived stem cells in breast cancer progression and metastasis. Stem Cells Int. 2015;2015:120949.
Puissant B, Barreau C, Bourin P,Clavel C, Corre J, Bousquet C, et al. Immunomodulatory effect of human adipose tissue-derived adult stem cells: comparison with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Br J Haematol. 2005;129(1):118-129.
Ghosh S, Hughes D, Parma DL, Ramirez A, Li R. Association of obesity and circulating adipose stromal cells among breast cancer survivors. Mol Biol Rep. 2014;41(5):2907-2916.
Pittenger MF, Mackay AM, Beck SC, Jaiswal RK, Douglas R, Mosca JD, et al. Multilineage potential of adult human mesenchymal stem cells. Science. 1999;284(5411):143-147.
Harasymiak-Krzyzanowska I, Niedojadlo A, Karwat J, Kotula L, Gil-Kulik P, Sawiuk M, et al. Adipose tissue-derived stem cells show considerable promise for regenerative medicine applications. Cell Mol Biol Lett. 2013;18(4):479-493.
Donnenberg VS, Zimmerlin L, Rubin JP, Donnenberg AD. Regenerative therapy after cancer: what are the risks? Tissue Eng Part B Rev. 2010;16(6):567-575.
Freese KE, Kokai L, Edwards RP, Philips BJ, Sheikh MA, Kelley J, et al. Adipose-derived stems cells and their role in human cancer development, growth, progression, and metastasis: a systematic review. Cancer Res. 2015;75(7):1161-1168.
Chandler EM, Seo BR, Califano JP, Andresen Eguiluz RC, Lee JS, Yoon CJ, et al. Implanted adipose progenitor cells as physicochemical regulators of breast cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2012;109(25):9786-9791. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1121160109
Ryu H, Oh JE, Rhee KJ, Baik SK, Kim J, Kang SJ, et al. Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells cultured at high density express IFN-beta and suppress the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Cancer Lett. 2014;352(2):220-227.
Cousin B, Ravet E, Poglio S, De Toni F, Bertuzzi M, Lulka H, et al. Adult stromal cells derived from human adipose tissue provoke pancreatic cancer cell death both in vitro and in vivo. PLoS One. 2009;4(7):e6278. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006278
Chen D, Liu S, Ma H, Liang X, Ma H, Yan X, et al. Paracrine factors from adipose-mesenchymal stem cells enhance metastatic capacity through Wnt signaling pathway in a colon cancer cell co-culture model. Cancer Cell Int. 2015;15:42.
Wei HJ, Zeng R, Lu JH, Lai WF, Chen WH, Liu HY, et al. Adipose-derived stem cells promote tumor initiation and accelerate tumor growth by interleukin-6 production. Oncotarget. 2015;6(10):7713-7726. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.3481
Linkov F, Kokai L, Edwards R, Sheikh MA, Freese KE, Marra KG, Rubin JP. The role of adipose-derived stem cells in endometrial cancer proliferation. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2014;244(Suppl.):54-58. https://doi.org/10.3109/00365513.2014.936682