Weight Changes in Black and White Women Receiving Chemotherapy Treatment for Breast Cancer

Weight gain after a breast cancer diagnosis is associated with poor cancer outcomes. Limited research describes patterns of weight change by race. The goal of this study was to assess and compare the percent of weight change and change in body mass index (BMI) after chemotherapy in Black and White breast cancer patients.

Black and White women diagnosed with invasive non-metastatic breast cancer were recruited from two metropolitan areas. Medical records were abstracted to obtain clinical (e.g. cancer stage) and treatment variables (e.g. chemotherapy regimen). Weight change was examined in 98 women who underwent chemotherapy. Differences in baseline characteristics by race were evaluated using the chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables. We performed bivariate associations between study variables and relative weight change.

Most (62%) participants maintained their pre-treatment weight; 38% gained more than 5% of their baseline weight by the end chemotherapy. Normal weight women had the highest mean increase (3.57; 1.05, 6.10) compared to those that were overweight/obese. Fifteen percent of women shifted to a higher BMI category; 26% of those that were normal became overweight; 17% of overweight patients became obese. Blacks were more likely than whites to shift to a higher BMI (P=0.06).

Results underscore the need for integrating weight control within cancer treatment plans to prevent weight gain in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Future studies that help to elucidate behaviors and/or biological factors that contribute to weight gain overall and in blacks will be important.