COMPUTERIZED-TOMOGRAPHY ASSESSMENT OF WOMEN WITH WEIGHT CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH ADJUVANT TREATMENT FOR BREAST-CANCER

It is common for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer to gain weight, although the characteristics of the weight change have not bee n described. We investigated the changes in abdominal fat accumulation that accompanied the change in weight associated with treatment for b reast cancer in longitudinal and cross-sectional clinical studies in 3 4 women aged 39-73 y with early-stage primary breast cancer. Computeri zed tomography scans of abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adipose de pots, bioelectrical impedance measurements of body fat mass, and measu rements of body weight and girth were obtained early in the course of treatment and 6 mo later (longitudinal study; n = 8) or within 12 mo o f treatment (cross-sectional study; n = 26). The longitudinal study fo und that, irrespective of the direction of weight change, seven of eig ht women gained body fat and lost lean body mass. In the five women wh o gained weight (median: 3.2 kg) two lost and three gained subcutaneou s adipose fat (median: 19%) whereas all gained visceral fat (median: 2 3%). In the cross-sectional study 19 women gained weight and 7 lost we ight or had stable weight since diagnosis. Change in weight was correl ated with abdominal subcutaneous adipose fat (r = 0.39; P = 0.06) and hip circumference (r = 0.43; P = 0.03) but not abdominal visceral fat, the ratio of subcutaneous to visceral fat, or the ratio of waist to h ip size. In the longitudinal sample, weight gain resulted in a variabl e response in subcutaneous adipose volumes but a consistent increase i n visceral adipose depot. Although these results are preliminary, it a ppeared that regardless of weight gain or loss women were likely to lo se lean body mass and gain fat mass during treatment for breast cancer .