A recent study discovered that obesity increases the risk of breast cancer in women with existing cardiac disease following menopause.
For the study, researchers assessed the data of more than 168,000 women who previously participated in two large European health initiatives.
The participants were cancer free, suffering from type 2 diabetes and heart disease when they participated.
After a follow-up of more than 10 years, nearly 68-hundred women were diagnosed with breast cancer.
The results indicated a strong association between increased body mass index, breast cancer risk and heart disease.
Every 5-point increase in BMI was linked to a 31% higher risk of breast cancer in women who developed a cardiac disorder during follow-up in contrast to a 13% increased risk in those who did not.
The lead author stated that these findings may assist design more personalised breast screening programmes and “should inspire future research to include women with a history of cardiovascular diseases in weight loss trials for breast cancer prevention.”
The researchers projected excess weight and heart disease led to 153 more cases of breast cancer per 100,000 individuals every year beyond expectations.
The development of type 2 diabetes did not appear to affect breast cancer risk related to body mass index (BMI).
