Association between body mass index and breast cancer treatment outcomes at a Canadian tertiary care centre

This project sought to quantify breast cancer diagnosis and treatment outcomes as a function of body mass index, given the association between greater body mass index and higher breast cancer mortality in the literature. In this study of BMI and breast cancer, patients with obesity were more likely to be diagnosed via screening mammogram as opposed to symptom-directed imaging and were more likely to receive breast-conserving surgery as opposed to mastectomy. This study highlights the importance of screening mammograms to enable early detection of breast cancer in women who have a higher BMI, as these tumours may be more difficult to detect on self-examination.