Obesity is associated with worse breast cancer outcomes in Western and Asian women. The present study was to determine the relation of body mass index (BMI) to disease-free survival (DFS) in Tunisian patients with operable breast cancer. We retrospectively reviewed data from 223 patients with operable breast cancer treated with primary surgery and adjuvant epirubicin-based chemotherapy. Patients were categorized into lower-BMI (<27.5 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; N=114) v higher-BMI (>27.5 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; N=113). Patients’and disease characteristics, including tumor size and lymph node status, were similar between the 2 groups. With a median follow-up of 56 months, there were 42 and 30 DFS events in the lower- and higher-BMI group, respectively (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.74; 95% CI, 0.43 to 1.26; p=0.26). A significant interaction (p<0.001) was found between BMI category and time, with a significant DFS advantage for the higher-BMI group after 3 years (adjusted HR: 0.28; 95% CI, i to 0.86; p=0.03). We conclude that overweight is associated with a decreased risk of late recurrence in Tunisian patients with operable breast cancer.
KeywordsAdjuvant ChemotherapyEarly Breast CancerObesityRecurrenceTunisia
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