Cancer
Effect of body weight on breast cancer varies
By David Liu Ph.D.
Nov 29, 2008 - 8:50:03 PM

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Saturday Nov 29, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Epidemiologic studies showed that the association between body weight and breast cancer risk varied depending upon the statuses of menopause and hormone receptors.

Suzuki and colleagues from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden meta-analyzed data from studies published between Jan 1, 1970 and Dec 31, 2007 to examine the effect of body weight on breast cancer risk in women with different statuses of menopause and hormone receptors.

Results from 9 cohorts and 22 case-control studies showed that comparing the highest versus the reference categories of relative body weight, the risk for estrogen receptor positive and progesterone receptor positive (ER+PR+) breast cancer was 20 percent lower among premenopausal women, but 82 percent higher among postmenopausal women.

The researchers also found that each 5-unit increase in body mass index was correlated with a 33 percent increased risk of ER+PR+ breast cancer among postmenopausal women and 10 percent reduced risk among premenopausal women.   But no association was observed for ER-PR- and ER+PR- tumors.