According to a research on 2,887 patients, women who had a body mass index (BMI) of over 30kg/m2 and were suffering from breast cancer had poorer outcomes in terms of being disease-free and of overall survival, as compared to non-obese patients. The research, led by Dr. Evandro de Azambuja and colleagues from the Jules Bordet Institute in Brussels, demonstrated that obese women presented significantly more often with stage 3-4 disease and that they were less likely to have undergone ultrasound or MRI examinations. They also experienced more surgical delay and prolonged hospital stay after surgery.