Researchers looked at survival in some cancer patients after immunotherapy and found that obese patients often fare better
Obese patients of some head and neck cancers have better chances of survival post immunotherapy than non obese patients, researchers have found. The findings mirror earlier revelations in some other forms of cancer.
Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University, Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Tennessee looked at national, multicenter cohort of 166 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and came to this conclusion. They reported their findings in the journal Jama Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
“Using population-level data for patients with HNSCC treated with ICIs (immune checkpoint inhibitors), these results suggest that having obesity was associated with improved 6-month, 3-year, and 5-year OS (overall survival) compared with having normal BMI. Additionally, obesity was associated with decreased gastrostomy and tracheostomy tube dependence compared with normal BMI. Further investigation is required to understand the mechanism of these findings.” Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a type of immunotherapy that blocks a physiological mechanism that ensures that blood cells responsible for the body’s immunity do not end up killing the body’s own cells.
Earlier, researchers had reports better survival rates for obese patients who were suffering from renal cancer and some skin cancers. There have also been other and bigger studies in the United Kingdom that had independently reached the conclusion that obese patients with head and neck cancers have worse survival rates but the current study pertains specifically to patients who had received immunotherapy.
Researchers looked at survival in some cancer patients after immunotherapy and found that obese patients often fare better
Obese patients of some head and neck cancers have better chances of survival post immunotherapy than non obese patients, researchers have found. The findings mirror earlier revelations in some other forms of cancer.
Researchers from Thomas Jefferson University, Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Tennessee looked at national, multicenter cohort of 166 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and came to this conclusion. They reported their findings in the journal Jama Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
“Using population-level data for patients with HNSCC treated with ICIs (immune checkpoint inhibitors), these results suggest that having obesity was associated with improved 6-month, 3-year, and 5-year OS (overall survival) compared with having normal BMI. Additionally, obesity was associated with decreased gastrostomy and tracheostomy tube dependence compared with normal BMI. Further investigation is required to understand the mechanism of these findings.” Immune checkpoint inhibitors are a type of immunotherapy that blocks a physiological mechanism that ensures that blood cells responsible for the body’s immunity do not end up killing the body’s own cells.
Earlier, researchers had reports better survival rates for obese patients who were suffering from renal cancer and some skin cancers. There have also been other and bigger studies in the United Kingdom that had independently reached the conclusion that obese patients with head and neck cancers have worse survival rates but the current study pertains specifically to patients who had received immunotherapy.
