A new study indicates that obese women may have a darker prognosis when it comes to the recurrence of breast cancer.
The annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held earlier this month, included findings from a Danish study suggested that breast cancer treatments don’t last as long for obese women.
The researchers looked at data taken from 54,000 women between 1977 and 2006, examining tumor size, malignancy levels, treatment regimens and other medical details. They found that compared to women of normal size, the breast cancer patients with a body mass index of 30 or higher were at a more advanced stage of disease when they got diagnosed, and had a higher risk of recurrence.
Marianne Ewertz of Odense University Hospital in Denmark says women should try to keep their body mass index below 25. Those who don’t, she said, should participate in regular breast cancer screenings.
