Healthy Living: National News
Breast Cancer and Weight
Story Updated: Aug 28, 2012
...but now new research suggests the need for vigilance with the scale, as well.
Pooling data from three national studies, researchers looked at long term outcomes of more than 68-hundred women with breast cancer...They wanted to find out if their weight had any impact on whether the cancer returned.
The researchers found that increasing body mass index significantly increased women's risk of cancer recurrence and death, even if they did well with treatment.
The weight connection was seen only in women with hormone receptorÐpositive breast cancer, the most common type of breast cancer, accounting for about two-thirds of all breast cancer cases.
Further study is needed to determine if weight loss can make a difference after breast cancer diagnosis.
The research team believes treatment strategies aimed at interfering with hormonal changes and inflammation caused by obesity may help reduce the risk of recurrence. I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV, with the news doctors are reading, health news that matters to you.