Body weight changes in breast cancer patients following adjuvant chemotherapy and contributing factors

Weight gain commonly occurs in breast cancer patients who receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Weight gain may cause psychosocial stress and is associated with patient prognosis and survival. Several factors contributing to weight gain have been identified in Western populations. However, there was lack of information associated with body weight changes following adjuvant chemotherapy in Chinese breast cancer patients. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first such study to be conducted in the Chinese population. A total of 98 patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy following a modified radical mastectomy were included in this study. Their weight was measured prior to the first and following the last cycle of chemotherapy. A weight gain, or loss, of >1 kg following adjuvant chemotherapy was considered to be significant. Cancer stage, treatment modalities, menopausal status and other clinical information were obtained through medical record review. The results revealed that the weight changes ranged from -11 to +9 kg, with a mean value of -0.4±4.4 kg. A total of 66.7% of the patients exhibited weight changes (34.6% gained >1 kg and 32.1% lost weight), whereas 33.3% of the patients maintained a stable weight (P<0.001). Patients aged ≤40 years [odds ratio (OR)=1.429, P=0.028], with a weight of ≥60 kg at diagnosis (OR=2.211, P=0.023), who received ≥4 cycles of chemotherapy (OR=1.591, P=0.039) and a total hormone dose of ≥200 mg (OR=2.75, P=0.013) exhibited a higher risk of weight gain. In conclusion, the body weight changes observed in Chinese breast cancer patient post-adjuvant chemotherapy were different from those observed among Western populations, represented predominantly by weight gain and were reflected by approximately equal percentages of weight gain, stable weight and weight loss.