Weight Gain After Breast Cancer Linked to Higher Recurrence, Heart Issues

Weight gain after breast cancer diagnosis and treatment is a common concern among survivors and poses a risk factor for breast cancer recurrence according to a recent study. In addition to increasing the risk of breast cancer recurrence, weight gain increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. In breast cancer survivors, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death after breast cancer itself. The researchers examined a registry of 4,744 survivors of breast cancer. Over six years after breast cancer diagnosis, the weight of the survivors increased by an average of 2 pounds. About 18% of the survivors gained more than 10% of their body weight by six years. 

Researchers reported that the factors that contributed to the weight gain of 10% of the body weight included having an initial lower weight, having hormone-positive breast cancer, having cancer that was more advanced at the time of diagnosis, being at a younger age, having mutations to the BRCA2 gene, undergoing chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, and undergoing breast surgery that was more aggressive. 

The researchers say being able to identify these factors could improve outcomes for those who survive breast cancer. It is important to identify the patients in the survivorship course since it allows researchers to take measures to prevent excess weight gain thereby improving breast cancer and other cardiovascular disease. 

After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States. One in three new cancers in females each year are breast cancer. 

Across the lifespan, the average risk for a woman developing breast cancer in the United States at some stage in her life is roughly 13%. 

The five-year survival rate for localized breast cancer is 99%, for regional breast cancer it’s 86%, and for distant breast cancer, it is 31%. The five-year survival of all stages combined is 91%. 

There are more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Research suggests that 25% to 30% of people with breast cancer will develop recurrence. From a cancer perspective, obesity is associated with an increased risk of cancer, breast cancer and cancer recurrence. Some studies have suggested actually that maintaining a normal body weight provides as much benefit in reducing the risk of recurrence of breast cancer as some of the pharmacologic interventions that we might apply, Adipose tissue or fat cells are inflammatory and we know that chronic inflammation is a risk factor for the development of cancers in general and the carcinogenesis process. It sort of impairs the natural surveillance of cancer cells. It just overall creates an inflammatory state, a state that’s more hormonal reactive, and that ultimately, unfortunately, can lead to an increased incidence of breast cancer. Researchers note that losing weight can improve physical functioning and quality of life for breast cancer survivors. Losing weight also reduces the risk of getting other forms of cancer as well as some forms of chronic disease.