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. 2012 Aug 21;18(31):4191-8.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i31.4191.

Role of body mass index in colon cancer patients in Taiwan

Chih-Chien Chin  1 , Yi-Hung Kuo, Chien-Yuh Yeh, Jinn-Shiun Chen, Reiping Tang, Chung-Rong Changchien, Jeng-Yi Wang, Wen-Shih Huang
Affiliations

Role of body mass index in colon cancer patients in Taiwan

Chih-Chien Chin et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To determine the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the characteristics and overall outcome of colon cancer in Taiwan.

Methods: From January 1995 to July 2003, 2138 patients with colon cancer were enrolled in this study. BMI categories (in kg/m²) were established according to the classification of the Department of Health of Taiwan. Postoperative morbidities and mortality, and survival analysis including overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were compared across the BMI categories.

Results: There were 164 (7.7%) underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m²), 1109 (51.9%) normal-weight (BMI = 18.5-23.9 kg/m²), 550 (25.7%) overweight (BMI = 24.0-26.9 kg/m²), and 315 (14.7%) obese (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m²) patients. Being female, apparently anemic, hypoalbuminemic, and having body weight loss was more likely among underweight patients than among the other patients (P < 0.001). Underweight patients had higher mortality rate (P = 0.007) and lower OS (P < 0.001) and DFS (P = 0.002) than the other patients. OS and DFS did not differ significantly between normal-weight, overweight, and obese patients, while CSS did not differ significantly with the BMI category.

Conclusion: In Taiwan, BMI does not significantly affect colon-CSS. Underweight patients had a higher rate of surgical mortality and a worse OS and DFS than the other patients. Obesity does not predict a worse survival.

Keywords: Body mass index; Colon cancer; Morbidity; Outcome; Survival.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall survival curves (A) , disease-free survival curves (B) and cancer-specific survival curves (C) relative to body mass index category using the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparison using the log-rank test. BMI: Body mass index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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