Association Between Body Mass Index and Survival in Patients with De Novo Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

BACKGROUND This retrospective study from a single center included 289 patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) between 2010 to 2017 and aimed to evaluate the effects of body mass index (BMI) on overall survival. MATERIAL AND METHODS This retrospective study involved 289 patients diagnosed with metastatic-stage NSCLC at a single institution between January 2010 and December 2017. Patients were categorized into 2 groups based on their BMI at diagnosis: those with a BMI <25 kg/m² and those with a BMI ≥25 kg/m². Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with overall survival. RESULTS A total of 289 patients (241 men, 48 women) were included in the study, with a mean age of 60.1±11.1 years. Among them, 175 patients (60.6%) had a BMI less than 25 kg/m². Multivariate analysis revealed that BMI, pathological diagnosis, and complete response after first-line treatment were independently associated with survival in patients with lung cancer. Predicted survival time was significantly shorter in the BMI <25 group than in the BMI ≥25 group (9.3 months vs 13.0 months, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The study demonstrated that a higher BMI at the time of diagnosis is associated with improved overall survival in patients with de novo metastatic NSCLC. BMI may serve as an important prognostic factor in this patient population. Future prospective, multi-center studies are necessary to further validate the role of BMI in predicting survival outcomes in NSCLC patients across different treatment modalities.