Breast Cancer: Survivors May Be At Increased Risk Of Weight Gain

New findings published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention reveal that breast cancer survivors may be more likely to gain weight than cancer-free counterparts.

"This is of concern because weight gain of this magnitude in adults has been associated with increased future risk for chronic diseases like coronary heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes," said Amy Gross, a doctoral candidate in the department of epidemiology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, in a news release.

For the study, researchers compared 303 breast cancer survivors with 307 age- and menopausal status-matched cancer-free women who participated in the Breast and Ovarian Surveillance Service cohort study that focuses on genetic and family influenced risk factors of cancer development.

Findings revealed that women who'd been diagnosed with cancer gained an average of 3.81 pounds more than those who had not. Furthermore, the study results showed that the type of cancer could also influence weight gain. For instance, those with estrogen receptor-negative invasive cancer developed 7.26 pounds more than those who were cancer free. Lastly, those treated with chemotherapy were also twice as likely to gain an average of 11 pounds.

"Most breast cancer survivors will survive their cancer for years or even decades, and die of other diseases," said Amy Gross, a PhD candidate in the department of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a co-author of the paper, via TIME. "Our study highlights the need to be aware of the impact of weight gain on the risk for other diseases. It's a problem we need to pay more attention to, in addition to just helping patients survive the cancer."

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