Obesity in breast cancer patients increases the risk of disease progression and mortality, according to a study.
- Individuals who are overweight have very high chances of falling prey to deadly health conditions like increased levels of cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems and many types of cancers. But, only about 10 percent of people are aware of the association between obesity and cancer.
British researchers from the University of Oxford found obese women are more likely to die from breast cancer or suffer the serious outcomes of the disease recurrence. They used early breast cancer screening records of 80,000 women from 70 studies and noted variables like BMI, estrogen levels, reappearance of cancer tumors and their prognosis.
The study found the risk of dying in patients with BMI levels over 30 was 21.7 percent and 16.6 percent for those with normal BMIs ranging between 20 and 25. It was observed that obesity is linked to 34 percent increased susceptibility for early death by hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer in pre-menopausal due to elevated production of estrogen.
"The findings from this study support current recommendations that women maintain a healthy weight following a diagnosis of breast cancer," Ruth O'Regan, an Oncologist at Winship Cancer Center told the CNN news.
The authors believe their findings encourage at risk women and those recently diagnosed to strictly reduce excess weight, which is known to cause inflammation in the body. This in turn triggers CYP19 - the aromatase gene resulting in the upshot of estrogen levels.
"No matter how we look at it, obesity is slated to replace tobacco as the leading modifiable risk for cancer," said Clifford Hudis, president at the American Society of Clinical Oncology and chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Breast Cancer Medicine Service in New York, reports Fox news.
However, the current study noted no direct impact of obesity among post menopausal women or participants with estrogen-receptor-negative breast cancer.
According to the data by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 35 percent of adults in the country are obese.
The research will be presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago on May 30th.