Remotely Delivered Weight-Loss Intervention Beneficial in Breast Cancer

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A remotely delivered weight-loss intervention (WLI) induces significant weight loss in patients with breast cancer and overweight or obesity, according to a study published online Aug. 21 in JAMA Oncology.

Jennifer A. Ligibel, M.D., from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues examined the impact of a remotely delivered WLI on weight change at one year in patients with breast cancer and obesity. The study included 3,180 women with breast cancer and a body mass index of 27 or higher: 1,591 and 1,589 were randomly assigned to the two-year telephone-based WLI plus health education group or health education-alone control, respectively.

The researchers found that WLI participants lost a mean of 4.3 kg of baseline body weight at one year compared with control participants who gained 0.9 kg (−4.7 versus +1.0 percent, respectively). Across demographic and tumor factors, participants randomly assigned to WLI experienced significant weight loss versus control participants. The effect of WLI differed significantly by menopausal status, with greater weight loss for postmenopausal versus premenopausal participants, and by race and ethnicity, with less weight loss for Black and Hispanic participants versus other races and ethnicities.

“The data from this prespecified secondary analysis demonstrate the feasibility of implementing a lifestyle-based WLI as a part of breast cancer treatment,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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