Remotely delivered weight-loss intervention works in breast cancer patients with high BMI

A weight-loss intervention delivered remotely helps breast cancer patients with overweight and obesity shed some of their body weight, regardless of demographic and tumour factors, according to a secondary analysis of a phase III trial.

A total of 3,180 women (mean age 53.4 years, 80.3 percent White) with stage II–III, ERBB2-negative breast cancer and BMI of at least 27 kg/m² (mean 34.4 kg/m²) participated in the trial. These participants were randomly assigned to undergo a telephone-based weight-loss intervention plus health education (intervention group) or to receive health education alone (control group) for 2 years.

The primary endpoint was weight change at 1 year. The analysis was conducted using a linear mixed-effects model that accounted for treatment, weight over time, a time-by-group interaction, menopausal status, race and ethnicity, and hormone receptor status.

At 1 year, the intervention group lost a mean of 4.3 kg (95 percent confidence interval [CI], 3.9-4.6), which translated to a 4.7-percent reduction in body weight. The control group, on the other hand, gained 0.9 kg (95 percent CI, 0.5–1.3 kg) or 1.0 percent of their body weight (intervention vs control: p<0.001).

Participants in the intervention group saw a significant reduction in their body weight compared with those in the control group across demographic and tumour factors. Notably, the effect of the weight-loss intervention was more pronounced among postmenopausal than premenopausal participants, as well as among Black and Hispanic participants than those of other races and ethnicities.