Putting on Weight 'Raises Cancer Risk'

Oct 23, 06:04 PM

Current Headlines: By Jenny Hope

GAINING weight at any time can increase the risk of breast cancer by up to 50 per cent, warn researchers.

But women can counter this by losing the excess pounds and returning to a 'healthy' size. This then reduces the risk back to that of those who kept their weight stable.

There was no difference in risk according to how overweight the women were.

The key factor was that any amount of weight gain was important in relation to breast cancer risk.

It is already known that being obese after the menopause pushes up the chances of developing the disease.

But now it appears from work at the National Cancer Institute in Maryland, U.S., that the threat is linked to a woman's weight from the age of 18 onwards.

The pattern was seen in women who did not take hormone replacement therapy, which can increase the likelihood of breast cancer during long-term use. Dr Jiyoung

Ahn and colleagues analysed data from 99,039 post-menopausal women.

In 1996, they reported their current body measurements and weight, as well as their weight at ages 18, 35 and 50, and were classified as underweight, normal, overweight or obese.

Throughout 2000, a total of 2,111 of them developed breast cancer.

Periods of weight gain after 18 were each associated with an increased risk of breast cancer when compared with maintaining a stable weight.

Women who were not overweight at 18 but were at 35 and 50 had a 40 per cent increased risk of developing breast cancer in middle age.

Losing weight appeared to offer protection, according to the report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Those who lost weight had the same breast cancer risk as those whose weight remained stable.

Dr Ahn said: 'We found that women who gained about 44 to 66lb during adulthood had a 1.5 times increased risk of breast cancer risk, compared with those who maintained their weight.' There are 41,000 cases of breast cancer in the UK each year and 13,000 deaths.

Four out of five cases are diagnosed in women after the menopause and the risk rises with increasing age.

It is thought that changes in sex hormone levels triggered by weight gain could explain the increased risk.

The hormone oestrogen - which can be supplied by fat cells as well as the ovaries - stimulates some breast cancers to grow.

Larger stores of body fat therefore affect the amount of oestrogen a woman has.

Overweight women have double the level of circulating oestrogen as other women..

Dr Sarah Rawlings, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: 'This research adds to our increasing knowledge that weight gain throughout adulthood can increase your risk of developing breast cancer after the menopause.

'We recommend women maintain a healthy weight to help reduce the risk.' Dr Emma Pennery, nurse consultant at Breast Cancer Care, said: 'It is important that women eat a balanced diet, keep within a healthy weight range and remain breast aware throughout life.'

It is a myth that positive thinking helps cancer patients to live longer, according to a study.

Kylie Minogue displayed the trait in her recent successful battle with breast cancer, saying: 'I thought, "You've got to fight it".' But researchers at the University of Pennsylvania who analysed the progress of 1,093 patients reported no differences between those with positive and negative emotions..

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