A city study of breast cancer patients shows that a larger waist
circumference could be one of the main risk factors for the disease.
The study by Tata Memorial Hospital, the country's premier cancer-care hospital located in Parel, showed for the first time that central obesity -a high waist-to-hip ratio or a waist circumference of over 80cm - can increase the risk of breast cancer by three times for Indian women. The study was published in the European Journal of Cancer on August 30.
"There are several types of breast cancer. Some are dependent on the hormone oestrogen, some occur only in post-menopausal women.
There are breast cancers whose risk increases as the woman concerned has children later in life or she lives in an urban setting, and so on," said Dr Rajesh Dikshit, one of the main authors of the study and head of the epidemiology department of Tata Memorial Hospital. "However, our study has shown central obesity increases the risk of every type of breast cancer, be it in pre-menopausal or post-menopausal woman," he added.
The study also found body mass index or BMI may not be a good risk indicator of breast cancer for Indian women. "Indians are known to be heavier than Caucasians with the same BMI. So, a woman with normal BMI but high waist-to-hip ratio has a higher risk of breast cancer," said Dr Dikshit.
The study by Tata Memorial Hospital, the country's premier cancer-care hospital located in Parel, showed for the first time that central obesity -a high waist-to-hip ratio or a waist circumference of over 80cm - can increase the risk of breast cancer by three times for Indian women. The study was published in the European Journal of Cancer on August 30.
"There are several types of breast cancer. Some are dependent on the hormone oestrogen, some occur only in post-menopausal women.
There are breast cancers whose risk increases as the woman concerned has children later in life or she lives in an urban setting, and so on," said Dr Rajesh Dikshit, one of the main authors of the study and head of the epidemiology department of Tata Memorial Hospital. "However, our study has shown central obesity increases the risk of every type of breast cancer, be it in pre-menopausal or post-menopausal woman," he added.
The study also found body mass index or BMI may not be a good risk indicator of breast cancer for Indian women. "Indians are known to be heavier than Caucasians with the same BMI. So, a woman with normal BMI but high waist-to-hip ratio has a higher risk of breast cancer," said Dr Dikshit.
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