Need to avoid breast cancer weight gain

HOUSTON, March 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. doctor says physicians need to pay close attention to weight gain in breast cancer patients.

Dr. Massimo Cristofanilli of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, who led a recent study that found breast cancer survival rates are lowest in obese women, notes commonly used drugs such as tamoxifen tend to increase weight gain during breast cancer treatment.

"We have actually become quite good at managing acute side effects such as nausea in our chemotherapy patients and it goes away within a couple of days," Cristofanilli says in a statement. "Following the nausea, our patients tend to overeat, which further increases their risk of weight gain. We need to implement lifestyle modifications interventions and develop better methods to follow these patients closely."

Obesity goes far beyond just how a person looks or any physical strain from carrying around extra weight, Cristofanilli.

"Particular attention should be paid to our overweight patients," Cristofanilli says.

Fat tissue may increase inflammation which is known to lead to the disease being more aggressive, Cristofanilli says.