Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2007 Nov;107(2):260-5.
doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2007.06.010. Epub 2007 Aug 6.

Weight change during chemotherapy as a potential prognostic factor for stage III epithelial ovarian carcinoma: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

L M Hess  1 , R Barakat, C Tian, R F Ozols, D S Alberts
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Weight change during chemotherapy as a potential prognostic factor for stage III epithelial ovarian carcinoma: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

L M Hess et al. Gynecol Oncol. 2007 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: Platinum/Paclitaxel-based chemotherapy is a current treatment for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. We sought to explore the association between weight change during treatment and survival, as well as the association between pre-chemotherapy body mass index (BMI) and survival.

Methods: A retrospective data review was conducted of 792 advanced ovarian cancer patients who participated in a phase III randomized trial of cisplatin/paclitaxel versus carboplatin/paclitaxel. Pre-chemotherapy BMI was calculated following surgery. Weight change was defined as the ratio of body weight at completion of protocol therapy to pre-chemotherapy body weight. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), classified by BMI or relative weight change, were estimated by Kaplan-Meier, and associations were assessed using a Cox model controlled for known prognostic variables (age, race, performance status, histology, tumor grade, tumor residual and treatment group).

Results: There was no association between pre-chemotherapy BMI and survival. There was a significant relationship between median OS and weight change as follows: >5% decrease=48.0 months; 0-5% decrease=49.3 months; 0-5% increase=61.1 months; and >5% increase=68.2 months. Adjusted for covariates, the relative risk of death increased by 7% for each 5% decrease in body weight (HR=0.93, 95% CI=0.88-0.99; p=0.013).

Conclusions: Change of body weight during primary chemotherapy was a strong prognostic factor for overall survival. Loss of body weight during primary therapy is an indicator for poor OS; weight gain is an indicator for improved survival. This study supports the development of strategies to minimize weight loss that can be assessed in a prospective, randomized study to improve patient outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall survival (OS) by body mass index (BMI) prior to chemotherapy
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean body weight during chemotherapy period by treatment group
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan-Meier estimate of overall survival (OS) by body weight change
Figure 4
Figure 4
Risk of death (Log HR) versus weight change (%), adjusted for covariates (smoothed); negative value in weight change indicating weight loss and positive value indicating weight gain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Calle EE, Rodriguez C, Walker-Thurmond K, Thun MJ. Overweight, obesity, and mortality from cancer in a prospectively studied cohort of U.S. adults. N Engl J Med. 2003 Apr 24;348(17):1625–38. - PubMed
    1. Key TJ, Appleby PN, Reeves GK, Roddam A, Dorgan JF, Longcope C, et al. Body mass index, serum sex hormones, and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Aug 20;95(16):1218–26. - PubMed
    1. Modesitt SC, van Nagell JR., Jr The impact of obesity on the incidence and treatment of gynecologic cancers: a review. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2005 Oct;60(10):683–92. - PubMed
    1. Hoyo C, Berchuck A, Halabi S, Bentley RC, Moorman P, Calingaert B, et al. Anthropometric Measurements and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Risk in African-American and White women. Cancer Causes Control. 2005 Oct;16(8):955–63. - PubMed
    1. Zhang M, Xie X, Lee AH, Binns CW, Holman CD. Body mass index in relation to ovarian cancer survival. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 May;14(5):1307–10. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms