Yayuan Wen

Primary malignant melanoma of the breast: A case report and review of the literature

Malignant melanoma predominantly occurs in the skin and mucous membranes, thus, malignant melanoma of the breast is particularly rare. In the current study, a case of a 26-year-old female with a malignant melanoma of the breast is presented. On diagnosis of the patient, extensive metastasis had occurred. The patient refused any treatment and succumbed two months after the initial diagnosis. The prognosis for patients with this rare tumour of the breast is somewhat poor. Early diagnosis, correct surgical resection and comprehensive adjuvant therapy are the key procedures that may improve the patient survival rate. The current case report aims to increase the awareness of uncommon tumours of the breast.

The molecular mechanisms between metabolic syndrome and breast cancer.

Metabolic syndrome, which is extremely common in developed and some developing countries, is a clustering of at least three of five of the following medical conditions: abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting plasma glucose, high serum triglycerides, and low high-density lipoprotein levels. It has been proved that there is a strong association between metabolic syndrome and breast cancer. Metabolic syndrome could increase the risk of breast cancer and influence the prognosis of the breast cancer patients. Some characteristic of metabolic syndrome such as obesity and lack of physical exercise are all risk factors for developing breast cancer. The metabolic syndrome mainly include obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and each of them impacts the risk of breast cancer and the prognosis of the breast cancer patients in different ways. In this Review, we focus on recently uncovered aspects of the immunological and molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the development of this highly prevalent and serious disease. These studies bring new insight into the complex associations between metabolic syndrome and breast cancer and have led to the development of novel therapeutic strategies that might enable a personalized approach in the management of this disease.