Title: Body Mass Index and altered Lipid Profile as Major Risk Markers for Breast Cancer
Progression: A Cross-Sectional Study of Postmenopausal Women in Pakistan
Version: 1 Date: 27 Nov 2023
Reviewer:  Faisal Gulzar
Reviewer's report:
This manuscript, titled “BMI, Central Obesity and Lipid Profile as Major Risk Markers for
Breast Cancer progression: A Cross-Sectional study of Pakistani Postmenopausal women,” has
several issues that require further revision or clarification from the authors:
AFFILIATION SECTION
1. There is a need to standardize the format throughout the paper; the 6th affiliation needs
correction.
ABSTRACT SECTION
2. Numerous grammatical errors are present in the abstract, particularly in the use of uppercase
letters.
3. Abbreviations in the abstract should be either avoided or defined if necessary.
INTRODUCTION SECTION
4. The introduction is lengthy and needs to be more concise.
5. Grammatical mistakes and continuous use of uppercase letters are noted from the third
sentence onwards.
6. Outdated references are used in the bibliography throughout the manuscript; please update
them to the latest available.
7. The last paragraph mentions the emphasis on the significance of LDL cholesterol (LDL-
C), oxidized low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OXLDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol (VLDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) with carcinogenesis.
METHODOLOGY SECTION
8. Ethical approval from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology is missing.
9. Clarification is needed on the total number of samples collected from the two institutes.
10. The recorded data of 384 participants instead of the intended 425 needs correction.
RESULTS SECTION
11. Tables are generally self-explanatory, and abbreviations are typically provided below the
tables.
12. The use of the symbol # in Table 1 should be replaced with "±."
13. Improvement is needed in the titles of Tables 2 to 5.
DISCUSSION SECTION
14. The discussion section contains numerous grammatical mistakes and needs improvement,
particularly in the title "Central Obesity and Lipid Profile on the risk associated with Breast
Cancer in Post-Menopausal women of Pakistan."
15. The discussion lacks association with the latest literature; for instance, there is a citation
from 18 years ago.
REFERENCE SECTION
16. Different reference styles are used throughout this section.
17. A significant number of references are older than five years, and the bibliography needs
updating.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION
18. Clarification is needed as the project was completed in 2021, but funding was received in
2023. The inclusion of authors who may not have contributed to research design or writing but
are paying APC requires clarification.
GENERAL COMMENTS
19. Numerous grammatical errors have been identified in the manuscript that require correction.
20. A page break could be used before the start of the abstract on page 1.
21. A page break could be used before the start of the introduction on page 2.
22. A page break could be inserted before the table on page 7.
23. A page break could be utilized before table 5 on page 11.
24. A page break could be utilized before the discussion section on page 15.
These issues should be promptly addressed and revised before proceeding with the manuscript.