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Association between body mass index and mortality in patients with glioblastoma mutliforme

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Abstract

Purpose

To examine the association between obesity and survival in patients with glioblastoma mutliforme (GBM)

Methods

Using a prospective design, 1,259 patients with previously untreated GBM were recruited between 1991 and 2008. Height and weight were self-reported or abstracted from medical records at study entry and used to calculate body mass index (BMI) [weight (kg)/[height (m)]2. Cox proportional models were used to estimate the risk of death associated with BMI as a continuous variable or categorized using established criteria (normal weight, 18.5–24.9 kg/m2; overweight, 25.0–29.9 kg/m2; obese, ≥30.0 kg/m2).

Results

Median follow-up was 40 months, and 1,069 (85%) deaths were observed during this period. For all patients, minimal adjusted analyses indicated no significant association between BMI treated as a continuous variable and survival. Compared with patients with a BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m2, the minimally adjusted HR for overall survival was 1.08 (95% CI, 0.94–1.24) for a BMI 25–29.9 kg/m2 and 1.08 (95% CI, 0.91–28) for a BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2. After additional adjustment for adjuvant therapy, the HR for those with a BMI of 25.0–29.9 kg/m2 was 1.14 (95% CI, 0.99–1.32) and 1.09 (95% CI, 0.91–1.30) for those with a BMI ≥30.0 kg/m2. No significant interactions were revealed for BMI and any demographic variables.

Conclusion

BMI was not associated with survival in newly diagnosed and previously untreated patients with GBM. Further research investigating the prognostic significance of alternative, quantitative measures of body habitus, and functional performance are required.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by NIH grants CA108786-04, CA52689, CA097257, Robert J. and Helen H. Glaser Family Foundation and Elvira Olsen Family Fund. LWJ is supported by NIH CA143254, CA142566, CA138634, CA133895, CA125458 and funds from George and Susan Beischer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Box 3085, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Lee W. Jones

  2. Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Francis Ali-Osman, Eric Lipp & Dora Il’yasova

  3. Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Francis Ali-Osman

  4. Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Bridget McCarthy

  5. Cancer Center Biostatistics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Jennifer E. Marcello

  6. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Lucie McCoy, Terri Rice & Margaret Wrensch

  7. Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Dora Il’yasova

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  1. Lee W. Jones
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  2. Francis Ali-Osman
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  3. Eric Lipp
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  4. Jennifer E. Marcello
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  6. Lucie McCoy
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  7. Terri Rice
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  8. Margaret Wrensch
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  9. Dora Il’yasova
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lee W. Jones.

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Lee W. Jones, Dora Il’yasova contributed to this manuscript equally.

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Jones, L.W., Ali-Osman, F., Lipp, E. et al. Association between body mass index and mortality in patients with glioblastoma mutliforme. Cancer Causes Control 21, 2195–2201 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9639-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9639-x

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