Obesity and Hormone Therapy
Posted 6/16/2010
Posted in
As we all know, there is a great deal of interest in the relationship between obesity and breast cancer. Weight (that is, too much of it) is associated with a higher risk of developing breast cancer in the first place and then with a higher risk of recurrence. I write this shortly after returning from my daily stint at the gym--and you can be sure that the possibility of reducing my risk is the reason that I go.
In the new issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, there is an article about this and, even more interesting for me, this editorial by Pamela Goodwin, MD from the University of Toronto. Here is the introductory paragraph and then a link to read more. The bottom line, once again, is that it seems to be important and helpful to keep our weight down.
Obesity and Hormone Therapy in Breast Cancer: An Unfinished Puzzle
Pamela J. Goodwin, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital, University of
Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kathleen I. Pritchard, Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
See accompanying article doi: 10.1200/JCO.2009.27.2021
The relationship between obesity and breast cancer is a complex
one.1 Obesity is associated with breast cancer risk in qualitatively
different ways before and after menopause (with decreased risk in
premenopausal women and increased risk in postmenopausal
women), whereas similar associations of obesity with prognosis are
seen in pre- and postmenopausal women (obese women in both
groups experience poorer outcomes). This complexity likely reflects,
at least in part, the variable relationships between obesity and estrogen
(a major contributor to the growth of hormone receptor-positive
breast cancer) before and after menopause. Before menopause, obesity
may interfere with normal menstrual cycling, potentially leading
to reductions in estrogen levels; after menopause, increased production
of estrogen in excess adipose tissue in obese women is associated
with higher estrogen levels. It is likely that the complexity of the
relationship between obesity and breast cancer also reflects important
contributions of obesity-related factors other than estrogen to both
breast cancer risk and prognosis.2 These factors include insulin, adipocytokines
such as leptin, and adiponectin, as well as inflammatory
markers such as C-reactive protein and interleukins.
http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/reprint/JCO.2010.29.5113v1
Tags: