In many research studies, the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis of individuals with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been evaluated. The findings are still debatable, though. For a study, researchers sought to evaluate how BMI affected adult AML patients’ responses to induction chemotherapy.
A total of 140 AML individuals were included in the trial. The information was gathered from computerized medical records at the Mansoura University Oncology Center. Patients with normal BMI (40 patients), overweight (42 patients), and obese patients were further divided into 3 categories based on BMI (58 patients). Induction chemotherapy using the 3+7 regimen was given to all patients (3 days of anthracycline and 7 days of cytarabine).
The complete remission (CR) rate was 25.5% (out of 40 patients with normal BMI), the mortality rate was 17.5% (7 patients died), and the induction chemotherapy resistance rate was 20.0%. Of those 8, 7 patients had salvage chemotherapy, with 4 of them obtaining CR and 3 passing away. Of the 42 overweight patients, 14 (33.3%) achieved CR, 22 (52.4%) passed away, and 6 (14.3%) remained refractory. After salvage treatment, three patients attained CR, and three patients passed away. The 58 obese patients had a CR rate of 46.6%, a mortality rate of 44.8%, and a refractory rate of 5. Of them, 27 patients (46.6%) had attained CR. Following salvage treatment for four of those refractory patients, they all died.
The study found that individuals with normal BMI had greater CR rates following induction chemotherapy than patients who are overweight or obese (95% CI, P=0.004). To validate the findings, a bigger prospective randomized experiment would be necessary.
Reference: SOHO
