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Blog Archives: Nov 2004 - present
Special items: Ovarian Cancer and Us blog best viewed in Firefox
abstract
Measures of body weight and anthropometrics such as body mass index
(BMI) are commonly used to assess nutritional status in clinical
conditions including cancer. Extensive research has evaluated
associations between body weight and prognosis in ovarian cancer
patients, yet little is known about the potential impact of body
composition (fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM)) in these patients.
Thus, the purpose of this publication was to review the literature
(using PubMed and EMBASE) evaluating the impact of body weight and
particularly body composition on surgical complications, morbidity,
chemotherapy dosing and toxicity (as predictors of prognosis), and
survival in ovarian cancer patients. Body weight is rarely associated
with intra-operative complications, but obesity predicts higher rates of
venous thromboembolism and wound complications post-operatively in
ovarian cancer patients. Low levels of FM and FFM are superior
predictors of length of hospital stay compared to measures of body
weight alone, but the role of body composition on other surgical
morbidities is unknown. Obesity complicates chemotherapy dosing due to
altered pharmacokinetics, imprecise dosing strategies, and wide
variability in FM and FFM. Measurement of body composition has the
potential to reduce toxicity if the results are incorporated into
chemotherapy dosing calculations. Some findings suggest that excess body
weight adversely affects survival, while others find no such
association. Limited studies indicate that FM is a better predictor of
survival than body weight in ovarian cancer patients, but the direction
of this relationship has not been determined. In conclusion, body
composition as an indicator of nutritional status is a better prognostic
tool than body weight or BMI alone in ovarian cancer patients.
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