A higher metabolic syndrome score was associated with higher mortality from breast cancer and obesity was associated with a higher incidence of breast cancer, according to a study published today in the journal Cancer.
In it, researchers looked at information on 63,330 women without prior breast cancer who received annual mammograms and were included in the Women’s Health Initiative to help determine the impact of obesity and metabolic syndrome on postmenopausal breast cancer.
The study follow-up period was about 20 years. The study’s outcomes included breast cancer incidence, mortality, deaths after a breast cancer diagnosis, and hormone receptor status.
At the end of the study, both metabolic syndrome and obesity impacted breast cancer. Researchers say that after adjusting for BMI, a higher metabolic score (3-4) was associated with more poor-prognosis estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive, progesterone receptor (PR)-negative breast cancers. A high metabolic score was also linked with 53% more deaths after a breast cancer diagnosis and 44% higher breast cancer mortality. After adjusting for metabolic score, obesity was associated with more breast cancers overall, including better-prognosis ER-positive, and PR-positive breast cancers. Obesity was associated with more deaths after a breast cancer diagnosis, with only women with severe obesity having higher breast cancer mortality.
Some doctors say that both obesity, as well as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, can increase the incidence of breast cancer. A composite score that takes into account the presence of hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high waist circumference (MetS) was associated with worse breast cancers (ER positive and PR negative). It likely means that obesity, if it has also led to hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, is an even worse prognostic factor.
It was concluded that targeting obesity might have a significant effect on breast cancer and targeting metabolic syndrome might be substantial in breast cancer mortality. However, researchers say that this doesn’t mean that one is more important than the other. This study shows that the parameters that are typically connected to cardiovascular disease are obesity, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol are also related to cancer. Many health variables are not under control like genes, but the metabolic components are. Diet, lifestyle, and medications can help control these factors.
The study confirms that both obesity and metabolic syndrome increase the “breast cancer health burden” but supports, at least in part, differential associations for each risk factor with regard to breast cancer outcomes. In addition to providing additional insight into the biology of breast cancer, these observations. may influence future pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. While obesity appeared more closely related to breast cancer incidence vs. development of a higher-risk breast cancer subtype, obese patients still did poorly following breast cancer diagnosis than their non-obese peers. As such, both obesity and high metabolic syndrome are associated with a greater ‘breast cancer health burden’ and neither should be discounted. That said, based on this data, efforts focusing on improving metrics associated with high metabolic syndrome may have the greatest impact specifically in reducing breast cancer mortality.
