Impact of body mass index on 5-year survival rates in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Background The association between cancer survival and body mass index (BMI) has been elucidated. However, the impact of patients baseline characteristics on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) outcomes remains unclear. Objectives To examine the baseline clinical factors associated with 5-year survival rates in patients undergoing allo-HSCT. Study design This was a retrospective exploratory observational study. Patients (n=113, average age: 55 years; 52 women) who underwent allo-HSCT at the Division of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Shizuoka Cancer Center, between January 2008 and March 2015 were included in this study. Results The 5-year survival rate (65%) was associated with the baseline geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI; odds ratio [OR]=1.20, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.36, P <0.01) and the BMI (OR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12, P <0.01). The cut-off values for BMI and GNRI were 20.5 kg/m 2 and 101 points, respectively (area under the curve, 0.65017 and 0.67637, respectively). The 5-year survival rate was poorer for patients with sarcopenia (41.5%) than for those without sarcopenia prior to allo-HSCT (p=0.05). Conclusions BMI and GNRI values before allo-HCST pre-treatment were independent predictors of the 5-year survival rates. Patients undergoing allo-HSCT may require nutritional interventions during pre-treatment to reduce the risk of sarcopenia, which affects their survival rates.