Baseline body mass index tied to outcomes, with obesity linked to poorer outcome<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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MONDAY, March 8, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Weight loss during treatment and over two years of follow-up negatively impacts clinical outcomes among women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive early breast cancer, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network<\/em>.<\/p>\n Samuel Martel, M.D., from Universit \u00a9 de Sherbrooke in Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues assessed the impact of body mass index (BMI; measured at baseline and at two years) on outcomes of 8,381 patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. Weight gain and weight loss were classified as more than or less than 5 percent.<\/p>\n At baseline, 2.2 percent of patients were underweight, 45.3 percent were normal weight, 32.1 percent were overweight, and 20.4 percent were obese. The researchers found that being obese at baseline was associated with a significantly worse distant disease-free survival (DDFS; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.25; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 1.50) and overall survival (aHR, 1.27; 95 percent CI, 1.01 to 1.60) compared with being normal weight. However, there was no significant difference in DFS (aHR, 1.14; 95 percent CI, 0.97 to 1.32). Two-year weight loss was associated with significantly poorer DFS (aHR, 1.34; 95 percent CI, 1.05 to 1.71), DDFS (aHR, 1.46; 95 percent CI, 1.07 to 1.98), and overall survival (aHR, 1.83; 95 percent CI, 1.18 to 2.84). Outcomes were influenced by hormone receptor and menopausal status but not anti-HER2 treatment type. Toxicities were more frequent in obese patients.<\/p>\n “Our findings suggest that dietary counseling should be part of survivorship care programs,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n