Weight change among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: A retrospective analysis

Abstract

19535 Background: Weight gain occurs in patients with early stage breast cancer receiving chemotherapy. The etiology is unknown. Most pre-menopausal patients receiving chemotherapy enter menopause during the course of treatment. We explored the relation between weight gain and development of menopause in breast cancer patients. We hypothesized that, among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, those in the pre/perimenopausal group will gain more weight compared to postmenopausal group in the first 2 years. Methods: The electronic database at University of Arkansas was queried for breast cancer patients treated with chemotherapy between May 1992 and Nov 2003. Age, chemotherapy and weight at multiple time points (diagnosis, 6, 12, 24 and 60 months) were obtained. The mean weight changes across these time points were then calculated for the entire population and also after categorizing by age. Age was used as a surrogate for menstrual status. Women aged >=50 yrs were considered postmenopausal, those <50 yrs were considered pre or perimenopausal. Results: 617 patients were included in the analysis. There were 371 patients in the >=50 age group and 246 patients in the <50 age group. The average baseline weight for the entire population was 75.21 kg: 74.44 for women <50 yrs and 75.71 for women >= 50 yrs. Patients <50 yrs of age gained weight in the first 2 yrs: 1.11 kg weight in the 1st year and 0.65 kg in the second yr. This was followed by loss of 1.19 kg over next 3 yrs which paralleled the loss of weight in the >=50 group. The mean weight of the >=50 age decreased by 0.27 kg in the first 2 years and then by 1.16 kg over the next 3 yrs following chemotherapy. Conclusions: Pre/perimenopausal breast cancer patients in our study gained weight, while postmenopausal patients had slight weight loss during the first 2 years. These findings imply that onset of menopause itself may be playing a significant role in weight gain among pre/perimenopausal breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.