Impact of body mass index on the circulating levels of nitric oxide metabolites in clinicopathological features from women with breast cancer

To investigate the clinical meaning of systemic nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) by comparing eutrophic and overweight/obese patients with breast cancer, considering clinical factors determinant of disease prognosis. A total of 61 women diagnosed with breast cancer were included in the study. NOx estimative was performed on plasma samples using the cadmium-copper-Griess method. It was then categorized according to the age at diagnosis, body mass index, menopausal status, tumor histological features, molecular subtype lymph nodal invasion, and emboli presence, considering p <= 0.05 as significant. A significant augment was observed in NOx levels from overweight patients carrying Luminal B tumors concerning the Luminal B eutrophic ones. There was a considerable reduction in NOx levels in eutrophic postmenopausal patients compared to the overweight postmenopausal ones. Patients bearing tumor sizes between 2 and 5 cm in the eutrophic group had lower levels of NOx, concerning the overweight patients carrying tumors of the same size interval. Circulating NOx levels change significantly according to the trophic-adipose status of breast cancer patients, and it is further affected by prognostic factors related to poor disease prognosis.

Automated summary

This study compared eutrophic and overweight/obese breast cancer patients to investigate the clinical significance of systemic nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) and the factors determining disease prognosis. Plasma samples from 61 women with breast cancer were analyzed using the cadmium-copper-Griess method. The results showed that NOx levels were significantly higher in overweight patients with Luminal B tumors compared to eutrophic patients with the same subtype. Eutrophic postmenopausal patients had significantly lower NOx levels compared to overweight postmenopausal patients. Additionally, eutrophic patients with tumor sizes between 2 and 5 cm had lower NOx levels compared to overweight patients with tumors of the same size range. These findings highlight the impact of trophic-adipose status and prognostic factors on circulating NOx levels in breast cancer patients.