# Body composition and breast cancer survival: immune and metabolic biomarkers in breast tumors - Disparities Supplement

> **NIH NIH R01** · KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2023 · $230,018

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This Supplement to R01CA251589 “Body composition and breast cancer survival: immune and metabolic
biomarkers in breast tumors” responds to the PAR-22-114 “Administrative Supplements to Support Cancer
Disparity Collaborative Research.” The long-term goal is to reduce the disproportionate burden of breast
cancer mortality experienced by non-Hispanic black (NHB) women by understanding the role of a key,
modifiable risk factor: excess adiposity.
Preclinical models indicate that excess adiposity impairs anti-tumor immunity and alters metabolic and cell
proliferation pathways to promote cancer progression. Given the markedly higher prevalence of obesity (body
mass index [BMI] >30-kg/m2) in NHB vs. vs. non-Hispanic white (NHW) women, obesity is assumed to
contribute to disparities in survival. Yet, BMI does not consistently predict survival after breast cancer in NHB
women or in women hormone receptor negative breast tumors, which are more common in NHB women.
Preliminary studies suggest that more specific measures of adipose tissue distribution outperform BMI to
predict breast cancer survival. Given racial differences in adipose tissue distribution at a given BMI, there is a
need to study body composition to elucidate the role of adiposity in generating racial disparities.
This administrative supplement establishes a new collaboration between a cancer disparities expert and a
study team with expertise in epidemiology, tumor biology and breast medical oncology. The parent grant seeks
to understand how systemic factors such as patient body composition impact the local breast tumor
microenvironment and therefore breast cancer survival. With this administrative supplement, we expand those
aims to include a disparities focus by comparing NHB vs. NHW women. We will expand representation of
tumors from NHB women in our study, and conduct a series of analyses focused on racial disparities.
Specifically, we will examine: racial differences in the distribution of visceral v. subcutaneous adiposity and in
associations of these adipose tissue depots with survival (Aim 1); racial differences in the associations of each
adipose tissue depot with expression of immune and metabolic genes in the breast tumor microenvironment
(Aim 2); and racial differences in the associations of immune and metabolic genes in the breast TME with
survival (Aim 3). Potential harms of excess adiposity may be mitigated through both medical and lifestyle
interventions; thus, understanding the role of adiposity in generating racial disparities in breast cancer is a high
priority not only for research but patient care.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10712034
- **Project number:** 3R01CA251589-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** KAISER FOUNDATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Marjorie Cespedes Feliciano
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $230,018
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10712034

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10712034, Body composition and breast cancer survival: immune and metabolic biomarkers in breast tumors - Disparities Supplement (3R01CA251589-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10712034. Licensed CC0.

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