Overweight Breast Cancer Diagnosed Women undergoing Hormoninotherapy with Tamoxifeno

Abstract

Introduction: Excessive weight gain is often reported in patients with breast cancer in hormoninotherapy with tamoxifen. Objectives: To describe the prevalence of overweight in women undergoing hormoninotherapy with tamoxifen and associated factors. Method: This was a descriptive and cross sectional study conducted in women diagnosed with breast cancer undergoing hormoninotherapy with tamoxifen. We collected information on nutritional status using anthropometric parameters such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and body fat percentage by bioelectrical impedance. Demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle and clinical variables (weight, height, waist circumference, skin fold thickness and blood pressure) and dietary (24 hour recall) were collected. Results: We evaluated 24 patients aged 36-73 with a mean time of tamoxifen therapy of 16.6 months (range 4-60 months). Considering the classification of BMI, 52.4% (n=10) patients were diagnosed with overweight, 45.8% (n=11) with obesity and 1.8% (n=3) with normal weight. As for body fat percentage, two (8.3%) were overweight and 22 (91.7%) were obsese. Besides, 87.5% (n=21) were classified as having some degree of obesity. Conclusion: There was a prevalence of overweight and obesity in the evaluated women in hormoninotherapy with tamoxifen. Thus, patients, especially those who already had a history of overweight, should receive nutritional advice from the start of hormoninotherapy that promotes the maintenance of healthy weight, and should be encouraged to engage in programs of lifestyle changes.