Dr. Zafar on Low BMI Impact on Colorectal Cancer Survival

S. Yousuf Zafar, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke Cancer Institute, discusses the potential link between low body mass index (BMI) and survival outcomes in metastatic colorectal cancer.

Researchers looked at a pooled analysis of five observational or phase IV studies of bevacizumab in metastatic colorectal cancer. Their hypothesis was that a high BMI would correlate with reduced progression-free survival (PFS), explained Zafar. While no link between high BMI and PFS was found, a link between low BMI and reduced overall survival (OS) was determined.

This may be because very underweight patients are less able to tolerate subsequent therapies and did not receive optimal treatment, or because being extremely underweight has a greater impact on cancer outcomes than obesity, said Zafar. Further studies, potentially those focused just on those with low BMI, are needed, he said.

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