Presentation description

The World Health Organization defines obesity as a BMI of over 30 and affects 41.9% of women in the United States. Both post- and pre-menopausal obese women with breast cancer have higher percentages of breast cancer metastasis. Metastasis is the process of cancer cells detaching from the original/primary tumor location and spreading throughout the body to form a tumor in a distant site or organ. Actin, E-cadherin and N-cadherin, are proteins found in the extracellular matrix that impacts a cell's motility, shape, and flexibility, as well as play an important role in the invasion of breast cancer cells to form metastasis. An increase in invasion allows for higher motility and higher chances of metastasis. Studies suggest that the decrease in E-cadherin expression paired with the increase in N-cadherin expression can drive invasion in cancer patients. We used immunofluorescence to analyze cadherin expression. Additionally, we use the spheroid assay to determine actin's role in cell invasion. We observed that invasion was increased in cells treated with either obese inguinal or obese visceral media when compared to cells treated with the lean inguinal or visceral media. Understanding how obesity promotes metastasis can lead to better understanding and treatment for obese patients.