AN EXAMINATION OF OBESITY AND BREAST-CANCER SURVIVAL IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

A historical prospective study was conducted at the Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (USA), to study the role of post-menopausal o besity in the recurrence and survival of breast cancer. Records from 3 01 post-menopausal women diagnosed with breast cancer from 1977 to 198 5 were followed for at]east 5 years from data supplied by the Tumor Re gistry and medical records. Data collected included age, height, weigh t, race, hormone receptor status, stage and size of tumour, number of positive nodes, site of distant metastasis, first course of treatment, and 5 year recurrence and survival. Forty-five per cent of patients w ere obese (n = 136), while 55% were non-obese (n = 165). Obesity was d efined by the Quetelet index (patients with values >27 were considered obese). The recurrence rates for the obese and non-obese groups were 40% and 39% respectively, and were not significantly different. Univar iate and multivariate analyses showed that there was no significant as sociation between obesity in post-menopausal women and likelihood of r ecurrence of or death from breast cancer.