Contents:
- Medical Video: BRCA mutation
- What is obesity?
- Apparently, obesity can complicate the detection of breast cancer
- Obese women are less likely to screen breast cancer
Medical Video: BRCA mutation
Just like other types of cancer, breast cancer must be detected as early as possible so that it can still be handled properly and cured. However, there are indeed several things that can make breast cancer detection difficult. According to research, one of them is the condition of obesity aka obesity.
What is obesity?
Obesity or obesity is different from being overweight. Obesity means it's more serious than being overweight. This difference is measured by calculating the body mass index (BMI). You can check your IMT at bit.ly/indeksmassatubuh or in this link.
According to the Ministry of Health, which is included in the category of obesity are people who have a BMI value above 25. Therefore, people with BMI classified as obese or above 25 tend to be more at risk of various types of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Increased fat in the body is associated with increased inflammation in the body while increasing the production of the hormone estrogen.Increased inflammation in the body increases the risk of DNA damage which then leads to abnormal cell growth conditions, or cancer cells in the body.
Fat tissue or adipose tissue that accumulates a lot in the body will also produce too much estrogen. High estrogen levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer.
Apparently, obesity can complicate the detection of breast cancer
A number of studies have shown that obesity can inhibit the detection of breast cancer when patients are screened. However, it does not mean obesity reduces the accuracy of screening tools or screening programs.
According to research to the accuracy of the results of mammography of obese women in the United States (US), obese women are 20 percent more at risk of being misdiagnosed when undergoing mammography than women of normal weight. Therefore, achieving ideal body weight is important to improve mammography screening performance.
A study at the Karolinska Institute involving 2012 women with breast cancer in 2001-2008 showed similar results. Obese women were found to be more likely to be detected with tumors that were larger in size than women whose body mass index was classified as healthy.
So, it can be concluded that most obese women are late to see a doctor since the first time the cancer develops when compared to women who are of normal weight.
This is presumably because the size of the breast of obese women is larger so that it is more complicated to detect a tumor. It could also be because tumors in obese people grow at a very fast rate.
Therefore, a research team from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States revealed that breast clinical trials are actually not enough to be used as a benchmark to accurately detect breast cancer. This is because high fat tissue can make cancer cell growth difficult to detect.
Obese women are less likely to screen breast cancer
Obese women, according to a study involving 11,345 women by The National Cencus Bureauand research involving 5,134 women in Denmark,it is even less common for people to screen than normal people.
As a result, obese women have a higher mortality rate in cases of cervical cancer and breast cancer. Obese women are less likely to undergo screening tests at an early stage and are easier to treat than normal weight people.
This research is also in line with other studies that found bthat obese women have a higher mortality rate and are less likely to screen breast cancer cases in this study.
Many factors make obese women tend to screen less often. For example because of anxiety about his physical condition, shame about body weight, lack of access to screening, worries about pain, and self discomfort when screening.
