Obesity boosts death risk in breast cancer survivors
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By David Liu, Ph.D.
Sunday June 25, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in the June 2011 issue of Endocrine Reviews confirms that obesity may boost risk of early death in breast cancer survivors, particularly those whose diseases are estrogen receptor positive.
Early studies have already shown obesity may increase risk of death among women diagnosed with breast cancer. The current study found women who were obese at the beginning of the study or at baseline were 69 percent more likely to die from breast cancer, compared with those who were lean.
Christina M Dieli-Conwright of Beckman Research Institute at the City of Hope National Medical Center in California and colleagues found the association after analyzing data from 3,995 subjects who participated in the California Teachers Study. All subjects were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 1995 and 2006.
During the follow-up from the time of diagnosis through 2007, 583 deaths - 262 deaths from breast cancer and 321 deaths from non-breast cancer causes, were recorded. Data on height and weight at age 18 and at baseline were self-reproted and corresponding BMI were calculated for each participant.
The researchers found the increase in the risk of breast cancer death was more significant among those whose diseases were more serious than those whose diseases were localized. The increase was 91 percent.
The association between higher BMI at baseline and higher risk of breast cancer death was only found among those who were estrogen-receptor positive, but not among those whose diseases were ER negative.
Obesity at age 18 also increased the risk of breast cancer death. The researchers found the increase in the risk was 69 percent among those whose BMI were between 25 and 29 kg/m2 at age 18 and 223 percent among those who had a BMI between 25 and 29 kg/m2, but whose diseases were ER negative.
The all-cause death risk was similar regardless of body mass indexes.
Obesity per se may be a risk factor for breast cancer or breast cancer death. It is still possible that the dietary paractice associated with obesity may play a direct role, a health observer suggested.
More than 175,000 American women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer each year, according to the Naitonal Cancer Institute. About 50,000 Americans die from the disease annually.
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