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30-09-2022 | ESMO 2022 | Conference coverage | News

High BMI tied to improved ICI outcomes in metastatic UC patients

Author: Shreeya Nanda

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medwireNews: A chart review of patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) has identified a significant association between BMI and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) response and survival.

The findings were presented in a poster at the ESMO Congress 2022 in Paris, France, by Soumaya Labidi (Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and colleagues.

“Elevated BMI represents a novel potential biomarker” in this setting, they said, and added: “External validation of these data in a larger study and investigations into the mechanisms behind these findings are warranted.”

The study included data on 121 individuals who received PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors for metastatic UC at one of three Canadian cancer centers between 2016 and 2021. The majority of the participants were men (74%) and had received ICIs in the second- or later-line (61%).

Forty-five percent of the participants had a BMI below 25 kg/m2, 36% a BMI of 25 to less than 30 kg/m2, and 19% had a BMI of at least 30 kg/m2. The median BMI in each of the groups was 20.9, 26.6, and 34.6 kg/m2, respectively.

Labidi et al found that median overall survival following ICI treatment improved significantly with increasing BMI, at 8.5 months for patients with a BMI below 25 kg/m2, 14.4 months for those with a BMI of 25 to less than 30 kg/m2, and 24.8 months for those with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more.

Similarly, the overall response rate was significantly higher for participants with a BMI of at least 25 kg/m2 than for those with a lower BMI, at 45.4% versus 16.3%.

And multivariable analysis adjusting for confounders revealed a significant association between BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more and overall survival, such that the risk for death was a significant 60% reduced relative to a lower BMI.

“BMI is strongly and independently associated with ICI response and survival,” summarized the authors.

medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group

This independent news story was supported by an educational grant from Pfizer and Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

ESMO Congress 2022; Paris, France: 9–13 September

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