Obesity and Breast Cancer Treatment Outcomes
Author Information
Author(s): Guliyev Murad, Özkan Alan, Günaltılı Murat, Safarov Shamkhal, Fidan Mehmet Cem, Alkan Şen Gülin, Değerli Ezgi, Papila Berrin, Demirci Nebi Serkan, Papila Çiğdem, Desiderio Vincenzo
Primary Institution: Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, İstanbul, Turkey
Hypothesis
Does obesity negatively affect the rate of pathological complete response in operable breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy?
Conclusion
Obesity is an independently significant negative predictive factor for achieving pathological complete response in breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Supporting Evidence
- Obesity was more common in postmenopausal patients.
- The median age of obese patients was significantly higher compared to non-obese patients.
- Patients in the obese group demonstrated significantly lower pCR rates compared to the non-obese group (30% vs. 45%).
- In HR-positive/HER2-negative patients, the pCR rate was significantly lower in the obese group (11% vs. 27%).
- Postmenopausal patients showed a significant difference in pCR rates between obese and non-obese groups (29% vs. 52%).
Takeaway
Being overweight can make it harder for breast cancer patients to respond well to treatment. This study found that heavier patients had lower chances of getting rid of the cancer after chemotherapy.
Methodology
This was a single-center retrospective study comparing pathological responses to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in obese and non-obese breast cancer patients.
Potential Biases
Potential selection biases due to the retrospective nature of the study.
Limitations
The study's single-center and retrospective design may introduce selection biases and limit generalizability.
Participant Demographics
All participants were female breast cancer patients with a median age of 48 years, including 43.5% obese and 56.5% non-obese.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.03
Confidence Interval
95% CI: 0.28–0.97
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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