The Impact of BMI on the Outcome of Lymphoma Treatment

Background: Lymphomas comprise a diverse group of neoplasms derived from B cells, T cells, or Nk cells, associated with variable clinical presentation.

The main treatment of lymphoma is chemotherapy, though radiation and targeted therapy may be combined according to the type and stage of the disease. Chemotherapy dosage is determined according to body surface area (BSA) thus patients with different body mass indexes (BMI) receive different doses. Patients with high BMI values may not receive the full chemotherapeutic dose due to concerns regarding side effects.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of BMI on treatment outcomes of lymphoma patients.

Patients and methods: A retrospective study was conducted to assess the relationship between BMI and treatment outcomes in patients suffering from the most common types of lymphoma: Hodgkin's disease, follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Data was collected from the relevant lymphoma patients' treatment charts at the hematology outpatient clinic at Ziv Medical Center. 117 patients were included in the study; patients were categorized according to BMI. Treatment outcomes were correlated to BMI values.

Results: No difference was found between different BMI groups and treatment outcomes (P = 0.552), but patients with higher BMI values received significantly more lines of chemotherapy (P = 0.011).

Conclusion: Lymphoma patients with high BMI values do not have worse treatment outcomes compared to patients with normal BMI values, but higher BMI value was strongly correlated to more lines of chemotherapy

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.