Effects of body mass index and serum albumin on overall survival in patients with cancer undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy: a single-center retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to explore whether body mass index (BMI) and albumin were associated with overall survival (OS) in individuals who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for cancer.

METHODS

Three-hundred twenty-nine consecutive patients who underwent PD for cancer were enrolled from January 2020 to December 2020. All clinicopathological information was extracted based on medical records. The survival follow-ups were regularly performed and ended on June 30, 2021. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards models were used to assess the association of BMI and albumin with OS.

RESULTS

Of the 329 patients, 186 (56.5%) were male, and median age at admission was 65.0 (56.0-71.0) years. There were 258 patients (78.4%) with BMI < 25.0 kg/m and 89 patients (27.05%) with albumin < 35.0 g/L respectively. In overall cohort, BMI < 25.0 kg/m was associated with OS (adjusted HR = 3.516, 95% CI = 1.076-11.492, P = 0.037). In contrast, albumin < 35.0 g/L did not affect OS. Subgroup analysis showed, in patients with pancreas lesion, BMI < 25.0 kg/m had a higher risk for OS compared to BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m (adjusted HR = 3.209, 95% CI = 0.985-10.451, P = 0.048), while albumin < 35.0 g/L was not linked to OS. In patients with lesion in ampulla of Vater, duodenum, or common bile duct, there was no significant association of BMI and albumin with OS.

CONCLUSIONS

BMI, rather than serum albumin, was associated with OS in patients who underwent PD for cancer.