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Impact of a Weight Loss Intervention on 1-Year Weight Change in Women With Stage II/III Breast Cancer: Secondary Analysis of the Breast Cancer Weight Loss (BWEL) Trial

J. Ligibel, K. Ballman, L. McCall, P. Goodwin, C. Alfano, V. Bernstein, Tracy E. Crane, L. Delahanty et al.

JAMA Oncology, 2025

3,180 participants · 12 citations

Abstract

Importance

Obesity is associated with a higher risk of recurrence, mortality, comorbidities, treatment-related adverse effects, and poor quality of life in patients with breast cancer. Scalable interventions are needed to promote weight loss in this population.

Objective

To evaluate the impact of a remotely delivered weight loss intervention (WLI) on weight change at 1 year in patients with breast cancer and obesity and to explore factors associated with weight change.

Design, Setting, and Participants

The Breast Cancer Weight Loss trial is a phase 3, randomized clinical trial evaluating the impact of a telephone-based WLI on invasive disease-free survival and other outcomes in women with obesity and early breast cancer at 637 sites across the US and Canada. Participants were enrolled to the study between August 2016 and February 2021. Participants included women with stage II to III, ERBB2-negative breast cancer and a body mass index (BMI) of 27 or higher.

Interventions

Participants were randomized to a 2-year, telephone-based WLI plus health education or health education alone control group.

Main Outcome and Measures

The primary end point for this prespecified secondary analysis was weight change at 1 year. Weight was measured at baseline and 1 year, and changes in weight were compared between groups. Weight change was evaluated with a linear mixed-effects model including treatment group, weight over time, a time-by-group interaction, menopausal status, race and ethnicity,…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a secondary / pooled analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 3,180 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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