New York: Breast cancer survivors, especially those treated with chemotherapy, are likely to gain weight at a higher rate than women who are cancer-free, says new research.
Data from earlier studies suggest that breast cancer survivors who gain weight may have a higher risk of having their cancer return, researchers said.
“Our study suggests that chemotherapy may be one of the factors contributing to weight gain among survivors,” said Kala Visvanathan, associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US.
The results of the study that involved 303 breast cancer survivors and 307 cancer-free women appeared online in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The researchers found that over the course of four years, survivors gained significantly more weight — 3.6 pounds (1.6 kg) on average — than cancer-free women. — PTI
