Is there an Association of Glycosylated Haemoglobin A1c and Anthropometric Measurements in Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Patients?

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest malignancy among women globally. It is a leading cause of cancer death in less developed countries and the second leading cause of cancer death in developed countries. Diabetes and breast cancer are two conditions that frequently coexist, and menopause may be a metabolic watershed. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and anthropometric measurements in premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer patients Methods: 100 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between December 2020 to November 2022 were evaluated and their HbA1c levels were correlated with anthropometric measurements and tumour characteristics Results: In our study mean age of the patients was 47.75 ±11.77 SD years. In patients with normal HbA1c 64% patients were pre-menopausal. In Pre-diabetic HbA1c group 70% were post-menopausal and in diabetic HbA1c group 93% were postmenopausal. Mean waist circumference was 84.56 ± 6.64 SD cms; more in pre-diabetic and diabetic patients; (p value 0.000). Most of the patients (71%) had waist to hip ratio ≥0.85 (p value 0.349). Pre-diabetic and diabetic patients were overweight (p value 0.000). 6 patients were known cases of type II diabetes mellitus and were on insulin/OHAs. T3 tumours were more common in both premenopausal and postmenopausal patients followed by T4 tumours. Stage IIB breast cancer was present in 39% of premenopausal and stage IIIA was seen in 30% of the postmenopausal patients. Grade II disease was more common in both premenopausal and postmenopausal (p value 0.858). Invasive ductal carcinoma-No special type (IDC-NST) was seen in 77% of the patients (p value 0.156). Estrogen Receptor (ER) positivity was seen in 42% of premenopausal and 33% of postmenopausal patients, negative Progesterone Receptor (PR) seen in 86% in premenopausal and 89% in postmenopausal patients and positive Her2 neu receptor was observed in 30% in premenopausal and 56% in postmenopausal patients. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that a considerable proportion of breast cancer patients were prediabetic. Glycaemic status and HbA1c were clearly associated with measures of visceral obesity in carcinoma of breast patients. Postmenopausal patients had higher levels of HbA1c compared to premenopausal cases. However; clinicopathological and tumour characteristics in our study didn’t demonstrate any significant correlation with glycaemic status and need more research and randomized controlled trials. Collectively, findings from our study particularly emphasize the need to control hyperglycemia and identify vulnerable groups of breast cancer patients who might benefit from interventions to improve glycaemic control.