title: Relationship between body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio and the steroid hormone receptor status in breast carcinoma of pre- and postmenopausal women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist to hip ratio (WRH) are associated to the steroid receptor status in breast carcinomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred and seventy three women with breast malignancies stage I-III were included. Weight, height, the waist and hip circumferences (WC), body mass index (BMI), and the waist to hip ratio (WHR) were determined. The expression of estrogen (ER) and progesterone (PR) receptors was determined with immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most women had central obesity (WC>or=88 and WHR>or=0.85 in 64.3 and 73.4%, respectively). The majority (78.1%) of the women had tumors that expressed at least one of the HR. BMI, WC and WHP were not related to the HR status in neither the pre- or postmenopausal women. Multivariate analysis confirmed these findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BMI, WC or WHR may not be good predictors of HR status in breast malignancies in either pre- or postmenopausal women.
authors.affiliation: Section of Nutrition and Dietetics, National Cancer Institute (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosilene Lima
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: Luis Otavio
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Sarian
authors.forename: Aarão Mendes
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pinto-Neto
authors.forename: Sirlei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morais
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Costa-Paiva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009376:Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D017698:Postmenopause; D017697:Premenopause; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio