Researchers investigated how obesity affects treatment outcomes and mortality rates using data from over 500,000 lung cancer patients. The findings indicate that immunotherapy may not be the best option for patients struggling with obesity.
While being overweight raises the chances of developing health issues linked to lifestyle, there’s an interesting phenomenon known as the obesity paradox where some cancer treatments have shown reduced mortality risk in obese patients. Nonetheless, this might not apply universally to all forms of cancer treatment, according to a study led by a team from Osaka Metropolitan University published in JAMA Network Open, a journal by the American Medical Association.
In treating non-small cell lung cancer, immunotherapy presents less risk for individuals below a specific BMI, while traditional chemotherapy seems to be more effective for those who are overweight or obese.
The research team, including graduate student Mr. Yasutaka Ihara and Professor Ayumi Shintani from the Graduate School of Medicine’s Department of Medical Statistics, analyzed data from a Japanese administrative claims database comprising more than 500,000 lung cancer patients, exploring the connection between body mass index (BMI) and mortality risks during immunotherapy and conventional chemotherapy.
By concentrating on patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, the study revealed that as BMI increases, the mortality risk decreases during both immunotherapy and chemotherapy, although this trend shifts around a BMI of 24. Patients with a BMI under 28 experienced reduced mortality risk with immunotherapy compared to chemotherapy, but for those with a BMI of 28 or higher, the risk rose with immunotherapy while it continued to decrease with chemotherapy.
“Immunotherapy may not always be the best treatment choice for obese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, so it’s important to also consider traditional chemotherapy,” explained Mr. Ihara. “Besides BMI, factors like age, hormonal levels, and gut microbiota are reported to affect how well immunotherapy works. Understanding whether immunotherapy or conventional chemotherapy enhances survival considering these factors could greatly advance precision medicine.”
