New York
Three new studies released Sunday examined how post-treatment lifestyle choices affect long-term outcomes after a breast cancer diagnosis.
Studies conducted by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in the US have encouraging results for breast cancer patients.
Two studies focused on breastfeeding after breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
These found that breastfeeding is safe and feasible for young patients with specific genetic variations that do not increase the risk of cancer recurrence or cancer in the second breast, and that breastfeeding is safe and feasible for patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer who become pregnant after temporary interruption of endocrine therapy.
The third study showed that a telephone-based coaching program could significantly increase the physical activity of overweight patients, thereby improving their outcomes.
These studies were presented at the 'European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024' in Barcelona, Spain.
The first study was a collaboration between researchers from 78 hospitals and cancer treatment centers around the world. It included 474 patients with inherited mutations in the cancer-susceptibility genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 who became pregnant after a diagnosis of stage I-III invasive breast cancer at age 40 or younger.
The second study provides breastfeeding results from the POSITIVE trial, which demonstrated the preliminary safety of temporary interruption of endocrine therapy to attempt pregnancy. An important secondary endpoint was breastfeeding outcomes.
The study included 518 patients with HR+, stage I-III breast cancer aged 42 years or younger.
Of these, 317 patients gave birth to a live baby and 196 chose to breastfeed. Breast-conserving surgery was an important factor in favour of breastfeeding.
“These studies provide the first evidence about the safety of breastfeeding after breast cancer, including in women with BRCA variations that predispose to breast cancer, as well as in patients who conceive after stopping endocrine therapy,” said Ann Partridge, MD, founder and director of the Program for Young Adults with Breast Cancer at Dana-Farber.
The findings highlight the possibility of meeting maternal and child needs without compromising maternal safety.
The third study is based on data from the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) trial, which is investigating whether participating in a weight loss program after a breast cancer diagnosis can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence in women whose body mass index (BMI) is in the overweight or obese range.
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“Our results indicate that a telephone-based weight loss intervention may motivate this group of patients to become more physically active,” said Jennifer Ligibel, first author of the study.