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 Researchers who reviewed data from 180,000 women found the more
weight a woman lost - and kept off - the lower her risk of breast
cancer, according to the report published in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute.
"We've known for some time that excess body weight (raises the risk)
of breast cancer," said lead author Lauren Teras, scientific
director of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society.
"In this study we found that losing weight and keeping it off is
associated with a lower risk of breast cancer in women aged 50 and
older who are not taking hormone replacement therapy. This is
particularly important for women who are overweight and in the U.S.
about two-thirds of women are overweight or obese."
Women with the most sustained weight loss - 20 pounds or more - had
a 26% lower risk compared to women whose weight remained stable.
Those with sustained weight loss of 4.4 to 10 pounds saw a 13%
reduction in risk and those who lost 10 to 20 pounds had a 16%
reduction in risk.
Even among those who lost 20 pounds or more and gained some of it
back, there was still a lower risk of breast cancer compared to
those whose weight remained stable.
"Perhaps just as important, it wasn't too late if a woman gained
weight after 50," Teras said. "If she then lost it she had the same
risk as someone who remained stable."
While the strongest impact was in women who started out overweight
or obese, "we did see the same association in normal weight women,
just weaker," Teras said.
Data for the new study came from the Pooling Project of Prospective
Studies of Diet and Cancer, an international consortium which
contains information on 10 cohorts of women and is designed to look
at the impact of diet on cancer risk.
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The researchers focused on 180,885 women with three or more weight
reports - either from a survey or an actual measurement - prior to
breast cancer follow-up. Weight loss was cataloged after the first
5.2 years of the study. Then, 4.6 years later, another measurement
was made and researchers determined who had kept the weight off. The
women were then followed for an average of 8.3 years to check for
breast cancer.
Teras hopes the association between weight loss and a lowered risk
of breast cancer "will be a motivator for the two-thirds of women
who are overweight or obese."
While the new study finds an association between weight loss and
lowered breast cancer risk, it doesn't prove cause and effect, said
Dr. Stephanie Bernik, chief of breast surgery at Mount Sinai West in
New York.
"People who lose weight are generally doing other things," Bernik
said. "They're usually exercising more and eating better. It could
be lifestyle modifications that are reducing the risk of breast
cancer."
Still, Bernik said, "fat cells are known to produce inflammatory
factors that are thought to contribute to an environment that allows
cancer to develop and propagate. This study adds to the body of
evidence that supports living a healthy lifestyle to help reduce the
risk of cancer."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2s03OJw Journal of the National Cancer
Institute, online December 17, 2019.
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