The Obesity Controversy: Does It Impact Treatment Response in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma?

Background: We aimed to investigate the association of body mass index (BMI) with treatment response in patients with DLBCL. Material and Methods: Seventy-nine DLBCL subjects were included in this study. Data about patient age, sex, serum LDH level, presence of B symptoms, IPI score, ECOG performance score, disease stage, extranodal involvement, and BMI values at diagnosis were retrieved by retrospective patient record review. Patients were staged according to Ann Arbor classification using CT and/or PET/CT findings, and the presence of B symptoms. Body mass index was calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared (kg/m²). Patients were divided into groups according to their BMI as underweight (BMI≤ 18.5 kg/m²), normal weight (BMI 18.5-25 kg/m²), overweight (BMI 25-30 kg/m²), and obese (BMI≥ 30 kg/m²), as defined by the World Health Organization. Results: Patients were divided into four groups according to their BMIs, but because there was only one patient in the underweight group, comparisons were performed between normal-weight, overweight, and obese patients. There was no statistically significant difference between these groups in terms of age, sex, serum LDH level, disease stage, presence of B symptoms, extranodal involvement, ECOG performance score, IPI score and treatment response (p= 0.070, 0.704, 0.325, 0.464, 0.254, 0.152, 0.658, 0.620, and 0.947, respectively). Conclusion: In our study, we showed that BMI has no significant impact on treatment response in patients with DLBCL.