Relationship between central adiposity and breast cancer tumor grade in females with breast cancer in south east Nigeria

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Breast cancer is commonly graded using the Modified Scarff-Bloom-Richardson (SBR) system because it is simple and effective with less inter-observer variability. 

Obesity: Obesity is a growing public health concern and has been associated with the evolution of many cancers including breast cancer. There are conflicting studies on the relationship between waist circumference which can be a measure of central obesity and breast cancer aggressiveness, as measured by the Modified Scarff-Bloom-Richardson score. These studies are few in Nigeria

Methodology: This was a prospective, hospital-based, cross-sectional study that involved females with breast cancer. The waist circumference of the patients was measured on presentation. Patients underwent Core Needle biopsy. Those with histologically diagnosed carcinoma were enrolled in the study.

 Result: The mean age (SD) of the subjects was 49(13) years; all the participants were women. The mean (SD) waist circumference (WC) was 94.46(11.80) The mean (SD) WC for premenopausal and postmenopausal women was 94.11cm and 94.76cm respectively, thus both older and younger individuals have similar central adiposity. There is a moderate correlation between waist circumference and grades of breast cancer.

The study findings show the importance of weight reduction in women of all age groups.