Association of body mass index with clinical outcome of primary WHO grade 4 glioma

Jiejun Wang; Zhaonian Hao; Ruyuan Li; Weiqi Wu; Na Huang; Kangna Zhang; Shuyu Hao; Jie Feng; Junsheng Chu; Nan Ji

doi:10.3389/fonc.2024.1318785

Association of body mass index with clinical outcome of primary WHO grade 4 glioma

Front Oncol. 2024 Apr 29:14:1318785. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1318785. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Jiejun Wang^#¹, Zhaonian Hao^#¹, Ruyuan Li², Weiqi Wu¹, Na Huang¹, Kangna Zhang¹, Shuyu Hao¹, Jie Feng³, Junsheng Chu¹, Nan Ji¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
² National Cancer Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
³ Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: The prognostic value of body mass index (BMI) in primary WHO grade 4 gliomas is not widely acknowledged. This study aims to assess the survival outcomes of patients with different BMIs.

Methods: Real-world data of patients diagnosed with primary WHO grade 4 (2021 version) glioma was assessed. All 127 patients admitted in this study were administered with standard-of-care from September 2018 to September 2021. The outcomes of overall survival and progression-free survival were analyzed.

Results: The baseline characteristics of clinical features, molecular features, and secondary treatment in BMI subsets showed no significant difference. The survival analyses showed a significantly superior overall survival (OS) in the overweight group compared to the normal weight group. A trend of better OS in the overweight group compared to the obesity group was observed. The univariate Cox regression demonstrated patients of round-BMI 25 and 26 had superior OS outcomes.

Conclusion: In this real-world setting, patients with a BMI between 24 and 28 have superior overall survival. Patients in the proper BMI range may acquire survival benefits undergoing standard-of-care of primary WHO grade 4 gliomas. The prospective studies on a larger scale on these subsets of patients are necessary to solve the paradox of BMI in glioma.

Keywords: body mass index; glioblastoma; glioma; obesity paradox; overall survival.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 81930048), Capital Characteristic Clinical Application Project (Z181100001718196), Capital Health Research, and Development of Special Grant (2022-2-2047).