Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 15 (22), 9579-9586
IntroductionBreast cancer (BC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. According to global cancer statistics, 1.38 million cancer cases (692,200 in developed and 691,300 in developing countries) accounting for 23% of all new cases of cancer worldwide, occurred in 2008 (Jemal et al., 2011). Also, 458,400 total BC deaths was estimated in this year. Incidence rate depends on the world region due to differences in race/ethnicity, reproductive and hormonal factors, physical inactivity and obesity. According to Moore's and Sobue's statement "The prevailing view is that the majority of cancers are due, very largely, to the environment, with only some 5-10% being primarily related to genetic abnormalities" (Moore and Sobue, 2009, p. 149). The prevalence of obesity is high and still increases. For example, using projection models it is suggested that in 2030 a number of obese adults will be higher by 65 million in comparison with 2010 (Wang et al., 2011). In 2008, 1.46 billion of overweighted (including 502 million obese) individuals was reported in analysis of epidemiological data from 199 countries (referred to Wang et al., 2011). As reviewed by Withrow and Alter (2011), the economic costs due to obesity are estimated to be 0.7-2.8% of the total health-care costs depending on a country. According to the World Cancer Research Found and the American Institute Cancer Research statement, there is convincing and consistent evidence that body fatness is positively correlated with the incidence of BC (WCRF/
Department of Prevention and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Physical Culture and Health Promotion, University of Szczecin, Poland *For correspondence: e-mail
AbstractThere is growing scientific evidence linking excess body weight to breast cancer risk. However, there is no common consensus on this relation due partly to methodologies used, populations studied and the cancer subtype. We report here a summary of the present state of knowledge on the role of overweight and obesity in pathogenesis of breast cancer and possible mechanisms through which excess body weight might influence the risk, focusing on the role of oxidative stress in breast cancer etiology. The findings demonstrate duality of excess body weight action in dependence on menopausal status: a statistically significant increased risk in postmenopausal overweight/ obese women and non-significant preventive effect among premenopausal women. Due to several gaps in the literature on this topic, additional studies are needed. Future research should address factors influencing the excess body weight -breast cancer relationship, such as race/ethnicity, tumor subtype, receptor status, the most appropriate measure of adiposity, reproductive characteristics, and lifestyle components.