Abstract 1689: Impact of pre-treatment body mass index on patients with head and neck cancer treated with radiation

Abstract Purpose: Radiation therapy (RT) may lead to difficulty in swallowing and subsequently weight loss in patients with head and neck cancer. We investigated the association of pre-treatment body mass index (preT BMI) with outcomes of head and neck cancer in patients treated with radiation. Methods: All 1562 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer and treated with curative-intent RT to a dose of 60Gy or higher between 1994 and 2004 were retrospectively studied. Body weight was measured both at entry and at the end of RT. cancer-specific survival (CSS), overall survival (OS), locoregional control (LRC) and distant metastasis (DM) were analyzed by preT BMI (< 25 Kg/m2 vs ≤ 25Kg/m2). The median follow-up was 8.6 years. Results: Patients with higher preT BMI appeared to have earlier T and N stage. Patients with lower preT BMI were statistically significantly associated with poor CSS (p = 0.023) and OS (p < 0.0001) than those with higher preT BMI. There is no significant difference between high and low preT BMI in LRC and DM. Body weight loss (BWL) during radiation did not influence survival outcomes. However, in the group of higher preT BMI, CSS, OS and DM-free survival of patients with less BWL during radiation was statistically longer when compared with greater BWL (p = 0.002, < 0.0001, and 0.033). Conclusion: This study demonstrates preT BMI greater than or equal to 25 Kg/m2 positively influenced survival outcomes for patients with head and neck cancer. Patients with higher preT BMI who were able to maintain their weight during radiation had significantly better survival and distant outcomes than patients experiencing greater BWL. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1689. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1689