Video

Dr. Ligibel Discusses Lifestyle Intervention in Breast Cancer

Jennifer Ligibel, MD, senior physician, Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses lifestyle intervention in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Jennifer Ligibel, MD, senior physician, Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses lifestyle intervention in the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

In recent years, the approach to breast cancer treatment has become more personalized, says Ligibel. It is likely that lifestyle interventions like diet changes will also not be one-size-fits-all approach moving forward. There is work going on to determine how these lifestyle changes impact certain people differently. This can consist of physiological differences, and account for patients who have a higher level of systemic inflammation, or metabolic derangement with different insulin levels.

Ligibel says that her work is trying to identify who may be most likely to benefit from a particular lifestyle change. More work needs to be done to understand these factors. Much of the work that has been done with lifestyle changes like diet and exercise in breast cancer focuses on how they relate to the risk of recurrence. Dietary factors are not as consistent as exercise, which if done regularly, can lower risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Related Videos
Alan Tan, MD, genitourinary oncology and melanoma specialist, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center; associate professor, medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Zosia Piotrowska, MD, MHS, instructor, Harvard Medical School; medical oncologist, Massachusetts General Hospital
Bartosz Chmielowski, MD
Raza Hoda, MD, FASCP
Armin Ghobadi, MD, professor, medicine, Oncology, Section of Bone Marrow Transplant; clinical director, Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy, Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University
Timothy S. Fenske, MD, MS
Yair Lotan, MD, professor, urology, chief, urologic oncology, Jane and John Justin Distinguished Chair in Urology, UT Southwestern Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center; medical director, Urology Clinic, UT Southwestern and Parkland Health and Hospital System
Roxana S. Dronca, MD, discusses the FDA’s approval of subcutaneous nivolumab across solid tumor indications.
Craig Eckfeldt, MD
Whitney Goldsberry, MD