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

Abstract

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.