Effect of body mass index on survival after curative therapy for non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background & Aims: The impact of obesity on survival after curative treatment for non-B non-C hepatocellular carcinoma (NBNC-HCC) remains unclear. This study examined the prognostic impact of obesity in patients who received curative therapy for NBNC-HCC.

Methods: A total of 260 patients with NBNC-HCC who underwent curative therapy were analyzed. They included 116 obese patients (44.6%) with a body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m² (obesity group) and 144 control patients (55.4%) with a BMI <25 kg/m² (control group). Overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were compared.

Results: The median observation periods in the obesity and control groups were 3.1 and 3.0 years, respectively. The 1-, 3- and 5-year cumulative OS rates were 93.9%, 77.3% and 56.0% in the obesity group, and 98.8%, 77.3% and 62.1% in the control group, respectively (p = 0.955). The corresponding RFS rates were 74.6%, 28.0% and 19.0% in the obesity group, and 70.0%, 44.3% and 28.9%, in the control group, respectively (p = 0.128). Multivariate analyses identified a serum albumin >4.0 g/dL (hazard ratio [HR], 1.759; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.007-3.074; p = 0.047) and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin >100 mAU/mL (HR, 0.396; 95% CI, 0.243-0.646; p < 0.001) as independent factors linked to OS. Alkaline phosphatase>300 IU/L (HR, 0.549; 95% CI, 0.367-0.823; p = 0.004) and gamma-glutamyl transferase >100 IU/L (HR, 0.679; 95% CI, 0.471-0.978; p = 0.038) were significant adverse predictors linked to RFS.

Conclusions: Obesity does not affect survival in patients with NBNC-HCC after curative therapy.