Obese and overweight women suffer from more aggressive breast cancers and have lower survival rates, according to findings published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. "The more obese a patient is, the more aggressive the disease," said study author Massimo Cristofanilli, a researcher at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. "We are learning that the fat tissue may increase inflammation that leads to more aggressive disease."
According to the study, the rate of inflammatory breast cancer among obese women was 45 percent compared with 30 percent in overweight women and only 15 percent in women considered normal weight. The risk of breast cancer recurrence was also higher in obese or overweight women. By five years, 51 percent of obese women reported a recurrence compared with 38 percent of normal weight women. The study also found that the 10-year survival rate was 43 percent among obese women, 42 percent among overweight women and 56 percent among normal weight women.
Cristofanilli said physicians need to pay close attention to breast cancer patients because commonly used drugs, such as tamoxifen, tend to increase weight gain during treatment. "We have actually become quite good at managing acute side effects such as nausea in our chemotherapy patients and it goes away within a couple of days," Cristofanilli said. "Following the nausea, our patients tend to overeat, which further increases their risk of weight gain. We need to implement lifestyle modifications interventions and develop better methods to follow these patients closely."
Related:
City Gals At Greater Risk Of Breast Cancer
African-American Women Suffer From More Aggressive Breast Cancers
Lower Dietary Fat Decreases Breast Cancer Recurrence
Source: American Association for Cancer Research
