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18 Mar 2008
Women who are overweight or who have high blood sugar levels could be more at risk of developing aggressive forms of breast cancer, a study suggests.
Researchers at Sweden's Umea University found that women showed a lower risk of breast cancer if they were overweight or had high blood sugar levels.
However they found that these women were at a higher risk of more aggressive tumours.
The study, funded by the World Cancer research Fund and published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, is thought to be the first to consider the effect of excess body fat and blood sugar levels on the risk of cancer.
Over 1,000 women were included in the study, which looked at blood samples and measurements including body mass index (BMI).
"We believe this is the first study to find a link between blood sugar levels and the type of tumour," Tanja Stocks, the study's lead author, said.
"Hopefully now this will lead to more work on how things like body fat and blood sugar levels affect the type of tumour that develops, as well as a person's overall cancer risk."
According to recent figures from the Association European Cancer Leagues, breast cancer is now the most common form of cancer among women in Europe.
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