Abstract
<jats:p>Background. The progressive development of breast tumor is considered a multifaceted effect of metabolic, hormonal, and inflammatory mechanisms, which makes irisin and chemerin predictive biomarkers of the severity and the dynamics of cancer growth as a complex biochemical-hormonal interaction. The purpose of this study was to establish the predictive and diagnostic usefulness of the circulating irisin and chemerin as integrated biochemical-hormonal biomarkers in breast cancer, and to identify their relationships with tumor stage, metabolic status and hormonal dysregulation of breast tumor progression. Materials and methods. A case-control study was conducted between March and December 2025 to assess the predictive value of irisin and chemerin in breast tumor progression. It included 180 women (120 breast cancer patients and 60 healthy controls). Diagnosis and staging were confirmed clinically, radiologically, and histopathologically. Fasting blood samples were collected, processed, and stored at –20 °C. Serum irisin and chemerin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, alongside routine biochemical and hormonal assessments. Results. The results indicated that the groups matched as there was a similar age and menopausal status. Prevalence of breast cancer was much higher in terms of body mass index and family history. The level of irisin was lower, and the content of chemerin, estradiol, insulin, and HOMA-IR increased, which testifies to metabolic-hormonal disbalance. Irisin reduced, and chemerin grew with the advance stage of tumor. Both biomarkers themselves were predictors of breast cancer risk independently and also showed high diagnostic accuracy, especially when used together, which shows that they are complementary in terms of their role in breast tumor progression and metabolic disturbances. Conclusions. Metabolic and hormonal imbalance such as reduced irisin and increased levels of chemerin are associated with the progression of breast cancer. The disrupted energy metabolism and inflammation, as seen through their opposing biological functions, justifies their use in combination as predictive biomarkers of tumor progression that are mechanistically intertwined to each other.</jats:p>