These finding, which were presented at the European Breast Cancer conference in Austria, provide further evidence that lifestyle factors can influence the health outcomes of cancer patients. The researchers examined the link between body-mass index (a measure of body fat based on weight and height) and relapse-free survival and overall survival.

Dr Jennifer Ligibel from the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute (United States) and colleagues analysed data collected from 1  909 women with breast cancer. Of the participants, about 1% were underweight, 33% were normal weight, 33% were overweight, and 33% were obese.

“Several other studies have shown that being overweight or obese at the time that a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer is linked to a higher risk of recurrence. However, questions have been raised in the past whether obese women were receiving relatively lower doses of chemotherapy due to their weight. Our study mandated that each patient received a chemotherapy dose adjusted to her weight, so these results suggest that treatment factors are not responsible for the differences in recurrence rates seen in heavier women,” Ligibel said in a conference news release.

“We found that BMI was related to both relapse-free survival and overall survival; for example, the 10-year relapse-free survival of a patient who was overweight was 70%; compared with 65% for one who was obese.

“Obesity is a modifiable factor, and although there is not yet enough evidence to say with certainty that losing weight or exercising more regularly will decrease the risk of breast cancer recurrence, there are consistent links between lifestyle factors such as diet, weight and physical activity patterns and breast cancer prognosis. If future studies show that making changes in lifestyle behaviours for women with early breast cancer will improve survival rates, then lifestyle interventions may one day become a standard part of breast cancer care,” said Ligibel.

David Cameron chair of the European Breast Cancer conference and professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said in a news release that these are important findings for women with breast cancer but “we need to recognise that the reason overweight women have poorer outcomes is not clear.

“There are a lot of health reasons why overweight women should try and get back to a normal weight, but this is not always easy, and as the authors acknowledge, we don’t yet know that losing weight after a breast cancer diagnosis will make a difference,” he noted.

Source: HealthDay News

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