MONDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Obesity is associated with an increased risk of renal cell carcinoma, but survival rates improve for patients who have a higher than average body mass index (BMI), according to the results of a Japanese study published in the July issue of Urology.
Osamu Ogawa, M.D., of the Kyoto University of Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan, and colleagues analyzed BMI data and health records of 264 patients who underwent surgery for localized renal cell carcinoma at Kyoto University Hospital in 1991-2002 and compared survival rates over five years.
Patients with a BMI greater than 23 kg/m2 had significantly improved overall and cancer-specific, but not recurrence-free, survival rates over those with lower BMIs. Overall survival rate was 94 percent for patients with a BMI greater than 25, 84 percent for those with a BMI between 23-25, and 75.9 percent for those with a BMI under 23.
"The present study is the first to investigate the influence of obesity on renal cell carcinoma prognosis in an Asian population," the authors write. "Our results have indicated that an increasing BMI has no adverse influence on the clinical course of patients with renal cell carcinoma and may even confer a survival advantage."
Abstract
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