Advanced glycation end products and breast cancer: a review of the literature

Abstract

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are mediators of chronic inflammation, which is recognized as an underlying process in carcinogenesis. The role of AGEs in cancers is the focus of recent studies. Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in the world and the etiology is unknown, but some risk factors have been defined; including obesity and diabetes. Both of these disorders are linked to AGEs; thus, BC and AGEs might be associated. AGEs in the human body either derive from the glycation of proteins and lipids in the blood, or from the dietary AGEs (dAGE). AGEs are mainly associated with disease states or aging, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disorders, Alzheimer, renal failure, arthritis, skin problems, viral infections, and osteoporosis. Some bioeffects of AGEs are consistent with the chain of events that occur during carcinogenesis. However, the studies about the role of AGEs in specific cancers are not conclusive, and some recent literature, especially clinical studies do not support the theory of the association between AGEs and cancers,. There does not exist a great deal of studies about the role of AGEs in BC, but the subject has been addressed recently. The present evidence is rather in favor of the association of AGEs and breast cancer; however, the direction and type of this association are unclear. In-vitro studies show that AGEs promote features of invasiveness in BC, but clinical studies show diverse findings. In this study, we present an overview of the core existing knowledge about AGEs and their relation with diseases; then provide a brief review of the results of studies that have investigated the association of AGEs and cancer, and then proceed to a concise discussion about studies on AGEs and BC.