deep Belly Fat Linked to Aggressive Cancer Growth in Women, New Research Reveals
October 5, 2025, 10:22:23 AM EST – A groundbreaking study published today in Cancer Research โค establishes a notable connection between โactivity within โdeep abdominalโข fat – also known as visceral fat – and the accelerated โคgrowth โof aggressive cancers in โwomen. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that increased metabolic activity in visceral fatโค deposits correlates with poorer outcomes in patients diagnosed with โขtriple-negative breast cancerโข and ovarian cancer.
The findings represent a โคcritical shift in understanding cancer progression, moving beyond โestablished risk factors like genetics andโฃ lifestyle to โคpinpoint a potentially modifiable biological mechanism driving disease severity. This research impacts an estimated 284,920 womenโข diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and 21,750 women with ovarian cancer in the United States alone in 2025, according to the American Cancer Society. Understanding this linkโข could โคpave the way for novel therapeutic interventions targeting visceral fat metabolism to improve treatment efficacy and patient survival rates.
The study,led by Dr. Melanie R. Daniel, examinedโข tissue samples and metabolic data โfrom โ300 โขwomen undergoing cancer treatment. Researchers discovered thatโค women with higher levels of โactivity in their visceral fat -โ measured โby analyzing theโ expression ofโค genes involved in inflammation and lipid metabolism – exhibited faster tumor growth and a reduced response โคto chemotherapy. Specifically, the research team โidentified a pathway โคinvolving the protein Monocarboxylate Transporter 1โฃ (MCT1), which facilitates the transport of metabolites between visceral fat and cancer โcells, fueling tumor proliferation.
“Weโ observed that visceral fat isn’t simply a passive storage depot,” explained Dr. Daniel. “It’s an active endocrineโฃ organ that can directly influence cancer cell behavior. The increasedโ metabolic activity in visceral fat appears to create a microenvironment that supports aggressive tumor growth.”
triple-negativeโฃ breast cancer and ovarian cancer,both known forโ their aggressive natureโ and limited treatment options,where the focus ofโ the study due toโ their especially poor prognoses. Theโ research team is now investigating weather similar mechanisms are at play in other cancer types and exploring potential strategiesโ to disrupt the metabolic โinterplay between visceral fat and cancer cells. Future research will focus on clinical trials evaluating the impact of interventions aimed atโ reducingโ visceral fat โandโข modulating MCT1 activity on cancer outcomes.