WHO Study on Breast Cancer and High BMI

High BMI and Cancer Risk: Postmenopausal women with high body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular disease are at significantly increased risk of developing breast cancer, according to a new study by the WHO published in CANCER journal.

Risk Comparison:

• Each 5 kg/m² increase in BMI results in:
  • 🧠 31% higher breast cancer risk in women with heart disease
  • 💗 13% higher risk in women without heart disease
• 📉 Type 2 diabetes didn’t significantly change the link between BMI and breast cancer.

Study Scale & Scope:

• Analyzed 168,547 postmenopausal women from the EPIC and UK Biobank datasets.
• Over 11 years, 6,793 developed breast cancer.
• Overweight women with heart disease had 153 additional cases per 100,000 women/year.

🔬 Implications:

• Data could help design risk-based breast cancer screening programs.
• Encourages including women with cardiovascular disease in weight-loss trials for cancer prevention.

🧬 Broader Context:

• Overweight/obesity is already tied to 12 other cancers, including liver, uterine, kidney, and colorectal.
• Recent findings also show that obese women tend to have larger, more advanced breast tumors.