Prevalence of Fatty Liver in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Treatment

Fatty liver is one of the most common liver diseases. Some treatments used in breast cancer may be associated with development of fatty liver. The present study aimed at investigating the prevalence of fatty liver in breast cancer patients.

In this cross-sectional study, 117 patients with breast cancer attending Ramsar Imam Sajjad Hospital in 2017-2022 were selected using available sampling. Patients who had fatty liver before the treatment or had a history of alcohol consumption were excluded from the study. Relevant information, including age, BMI, underlying diseases, time since cancer diagnosis, type of treatment/s, and liver enzyme levels were obtained. Liver ultrasound and measurement of liver enzyme levels were done to study fatty liver. Data were analyzed in SPSS V26 applying Chi-square test.

According to findings, 54.7% of the patients were suffering from fatty liver. The majority had Grade I fatty liver. Among the patients 53.8% received all four types of treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiotherapy). The study showed significant relationships between the incidence of fatty liver and type of treatment, underlying disease, liver enzyme levels, and duration of breast cancer (P<0.05).

Non-alcoholic fatty liver is seen in many patients with breast cancer. Treatment methods used in these patients are associated with the development of fatty liver. Therefore, clinicians are suggested to use appropriate diagnostic and treatment methods for fatty liver to reduce the incidence of complications caused by this condition in patients with breast cancer.