A new study has found that obesity is a significant risk factor for hormone-positive breast cancer in postmenopausal women, with excess body fat potentially contributing to 40% of these cancer cases. Published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health on October 15, the research suggests that obesity’s impact on breast cancer has been underestimated due to the reliance on body mass index (BMI) as a measure of fat. According to the study, BMI may not be an accurate indicator of body fat, leading to lower estimates of cancer risk.
Led by epidemiologist Veronica Davila-Batista from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the research team found that a more precise body fat measurement, known as the CUN-BAE equation, which considers gender and age, may offer a clearer picture of the link between obesity and cancer. The study compared BMI with CUN-BAE in over 2,000 Spanish women, half of whom had breast cancer. Results showed that about 38% of breast cancer cases were linked to excess fat when using CUN-BAE, compared to 23% when relying on BMI.
These findings were especially pronounced in hormone-positive breast cancer cases, where excess fat was linked to 42% of cases when measured with CUN-BAE, compared to just 20% with BMI. Researchers emphasized the need for better fat measurement tools to assess the true cancer risk associated with obesity in postmenopausal women. Excess body fat is believed to raise estrogen levels, increasing the likelihood of hormone-driven cancers. The study urges healthcare professionals to adopt more accurate fat assessment methods to better understand and prevent the cancer burden linked to obesity.
