Researchers link obesity to poor treatment outcomes

A prescription to buy Tamoxifen can greatly reduce the chances that some women with breast cancer will experience a recurrence. However, new evidence suggests that lifestyle factors may also play an important role in preventing cancer from returning.

Researchers from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute found that women who were obese or overweight at the time of their diagnosis were significantly more likely to experience a recurrence of cancer, compared to leaner patients.

The findings were based on an analysis of medical records of nearly 2,000 women being treated for breast cancer. The researchers initially planned to examine the relative effectiveness of various adjuvant therapies, but they ended up finding more meaningful data related to the association between weight and treatment outcomes.

Dr. Jennifer Ligibel, who led the investigation, said that obesity rates have been rising sharply in the last couple decades. Poor breast cancer treatment outcomes have also been increasing. The findings suggest that these trends may be more closely associated than previously thought.

"That is why we think it is a matter of urgency to find out as much about the relationship between obesity and cancer as we can," Ligibel said.