Release date: 2015-07-31
According to foreign media reports, a new study shows that cancer patients with excessive body weight survive longer in late treatment than those with normal weight. The researchers were "surprised" by the findings that they expected the leaner patients to recover better.
The study found that cancer patients with lower body mass index (BMI) lived on average two and a half months less than those who were overweight and obese. Researchers have previously predicted that obese cancer patients may not have a good effect in colon cancer stage 4, as previous studies have shown that obese people are at higher risk for colon cancer.
Previous studies have also shown that many obese cancer patients receive medications that are lower than ideal, and they often suffer from other health problems that complicate cancer treatment. Yousuf Zafar, Duke's first author of the research paper, said: "In stark contrast to our speculation, patients with the lowest body mass index may face the shortest survival time. In this study The lowest-weight patient, with metastatic colon cancer and a BMI of less than 25, is at the highest risk.
According to medical guidelines, healthy adults have a BMI between 18.5 and 24, and a value below 18.5 can be considered underweight. The researchers examined data from 6,128 patients with metastatic colon cancer who had not been treated, from four different studies in the US and Europe. At the onset of cancer treatment, their BMI index averaged 25.3, slightly overweight.
All patients received treatment with the drug "bevacizumab" and chemotherapy. The trade name "bevacizumab" is "Avastin", which is commonly used in the treatment of colon cancer. Its main function is to slow the cardiovascular production. The researchers divided the patients into 4 groups according to the BMI index and calculated the survival rate of each group. They also measured the length of time that a patient's tumor stopped growing, ie, progression-free survival.
The group with the lowest BMI index (20~24.9) was considered to have a healthy weight, and their survival after the start of treatment averaged 21.1 months. Patients with a BMI of 25 to 29 were considered to be overweight, but their survival was an average of two and a half months longer than the former. Moreover, the treatment of these overweight patients seems to be the best.
Obese patients have a BMI of 30 to 35, and their survival averages 24 months; patients with a BMI of 35.1 or more have an average survival of 23.7 months.
Although the study showed a significant association between the patient's BMI index and survival time, similar non-deteriorating survival was observed in patients of different body weights, ie, when the tumor stopped growing. In patients with tumor cessation, the progression-free survival was an average of 10 months. However, the cessation of tumor growth does not necessarily increase the probability of survival.
Dr. Yusuf Zaffa said that this study does not indicate that overweight will protect cancer patients who are undergoing treatment to some extent. Conversely, this result suggests that patients with lower body weight may be at higher risk of treatment and need to consider certain biological aspects.
"There is a link between the lower BMI index and how much treatment the patient can withstand," Dr. Zhafa said. "I speculate that the patients with the lowest weight in the study can get less treatment, or Can't afford more treatment; maybe they get enough treatment at first, but they become too weak to be able to withstand subsequent treatment. This may be where we need to pay more attention to improve their treatment. ."
The researchers published their findings at the International Congress of Gastrointestinal Cancer of the European Society of Oncology.
Source: Sina Technology
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