ESPEN 2012 - Late breaking abstract submission
Topic: Late Breaking Abstract
Abs n°:ESPEN12-1899
Abs Title: BODY COMPOSITION VERSUS BODY SURFACE AREA IN CANCER PATIENTS. DOES IT MATTER?
N. Stobäus 1,*S. Küpferling 1J. SChulze 1K. Norman 1
1Department of Gastroenterology, Infectiology and Rheumatology (Section Nutritional Medicine), CHARITÉ - UNIVERSITY MEDICINE, Berlin, Germany
Rationale: Calculation of cytostatics takes place according to body surface area (BSA) regardless of quality of body composition in cancer patients. The aim was to assess the prevalence of low fat free mass (FFM) with regard to BSA in cancer patients.
Methods: Bioelectrical impedance analysis was used to evaluate FFM and BSA was calculated by the formula by DuBois in 630 patients. Patients were divided into 6 categories according to their BSA (<1.6m2; ≥1.6-1.69m2: ≥1.7-1.7m2; ≥1.8-1.89m2; ≥1.9-1.99m2; ≥2.0m2) and mean ± standard deviation (SD) of FFM for each BSA category was calculated. According to the FFM patients were classified as having a FFM under the norm (-1 SD of the mean FFM = low FFM group). Patients with a SD between -0.99 and 0.99 of mean FFM were assigned to the normal FFM group and participants above 1 SD were assigned to the high FFM group. Furthermore, hand grip and knee extension strength and expiratory peak flow were measured, Karnofsky Performance Scale as well as fatigue was determined.
Results: FFM was 49.3±10.3kg and men had higher FFM and BSA than women (p<0.01). Correlation of FFM and BSA was 0.894 (p<0.001). FFM was reduced in 15.7% of the patients, 69% had a normal and 15.2% had a high FFM. Age, BSA, weight loss and tumor stage did not differed between FFM groups but there were significantly more women in the low FFM group (89%) than in the other groups. Patients with low FFM had a higher BMI than patients with normal FFM whereas hand grip strength, peak expiratory flow, knee extension strength as well as KPS were significantly lower in these patients compared to the rest. Moreover, fatigue was increased in the low FFM group.
Conclusion: 30% of the patients significantly diverged from the mean FFM of their respective BSA category. Body composition as a part of the nutritional status should be investigated as a possible impact factor on therapy tolerance.
Disclosure of Interest: None Declared
Keywords: body composition and cancer