Overweight is associated with a favorable survival in patients with colorectal cancer: a prospective cohort study in an Asian population.
BACKGROUND
The influence of body mass index (BMI) on the outcome of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is largely unknown, particularly in an Asian population. Therefore, we investigated the influence of BMI on survival of patients who underwent surgical treatment for CRC in Korean population.


METHODS
This prospective cohort study included CRC patients who underwent surgery between June 2003 and May 2005. Study participants were divided into two BMI groups: normal weight (<23 kg/m(2)) and overweight (≥23 kg/m(2)).


RESULTS
A total of 509 CRC patients were included in this study. Of these, 318 patients (62.5%) were male, and the mean ± SD age was 59.1 ± 11.3 years. Two hundred eighteen patients (42.8%) were included in the normal-weight group and 291 (57.2%) were included in the overweight group. During a follow-up of 62.8 ± 27.2 months, 100 (19.6%) of the 509 eligible patients died, and 72 (15.0%) of 479 experienced recurrence. The overall survival of overweight group was more favorable compared with that of the normal-weight group (P = 0.001), while there was no significant difference in recurrence (P = 0.735). Compared with the normal-weight group, the hazard ratios of death and recurrence, respectively, were 0.615 (95% confidence interval 0.408-925; P = 0.020) and 0.992 (95% confidence interval 0.613-1.604; P = 0.973) for the overweight group.


CONCLUSIONS
Overweight is not associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence but rather is associated a favorable overall survival in Asian CRC patients undergoing surgery.
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Yang Won
YW
Min
Su-A
SA
Kim
Jun Hee
JH
Lee
Jin Young
JY
Kim
Dong Kyung
DK
Chang
Poong-Lyul
PL
Rhee
Jae J
JJ
Kim
Jong Chul
JC
Rhee
Young-Ho
YH
Kim
D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000150:complications*; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies