Underweight and breast cancer recurrence and death

Abstract

e22054 Background: The association of body mass index or body weight and breast cancer outcome is controversial. Furthermore, the impact of underweight on breast cancer recurrence and death has not been adequately addressed. Methods: We investigated this issue in a large nation-wide database of 14,039 Korean breast cancer patients (Korean Breast Cancer Registry). Furthermore, to test whether the association was due to more frequent non-cancer death in underweight women, we used breast cancer recurrence data of 4,345 women from single institution (Seoul National University Hospital). Results: The results from Korean Breast Cancer Registry data showed significantly lower overall survival in underweight patients compared to normal weight after adjusting known prognostic factors [hazard ratio=1.36 (95% CI 1.08–1.72)], which was not observed in obese patients. The association between body mass index and breast cancer recurrence was further investigated in Seoul National University Hospital data. Underweight women had significantly higher risk of distant metastasis and local recurrence of breast cancer [hazard ratio=1.86 (95% CI 1.25–2.76) and 2.62 (95% CI 1.55–4.41), respectively]. Conclusions: These findings suggest that underweight could be considered as high risk factor of death and recurrence after breast cancer surgery. No significant financial relationships to disclose.