Impact of Low BMI and Nutritional Status on Quality of Life and Disease Outcome in Breast Cancer Patients: Insights From a Tertiary Cancer Center in India

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of Body Mass Index (BMI) on Quality of Life (QoL) and treatment outcomes in breast cancer (BC) patients, particularly focusing on underweight individuals with compromised nutritional status. A nonrandomized prospective study comprising 121 newly diagnosed patients across various BMI categories utilized FACT-B & FACIT-Sp-12 questionnaires. Follow-ups occurred at baseline, during (3rd and 6th), and after (12th month) anthracycline-taxane chemotherapy, either sequentially or concomitantly. Patients with low BMI (<18.5 kg/m²; 53.7%) exhibited significantly poorer QoL, marked by compromised nutritional indicators (low MUAC and SFT). Repeated measures ANOVA identified significant correlations between BMI groups in functional, social, and emotional QoL aspects (p < 0.05), with no notable differences in other domains. A Chi-square (ꭓ2) test underscored a significant link between BMI and treatment response (p < 0.0001), showing higher rates of non-responders among underweight patients (p = 4.259e⁻¹⁴). The study advocates pretreatment consultation with a dietitian as standard care for Indian BC patients, offering complimentary nutritional support for improved QoL outcomes and treatment responses.

Keywords:

• BMI
• Breast cancer
• Quality of Life
• Chemotherapy delay
• Chemotherapy response
• Survival

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the patients and their family members for participating in this study. We would also like to acknowledge Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Human Resource Development Group (HRDG) for funding this study; Grant no. 09/030(0085)/2019-EMR-I awarded to Tanuma Mistry.

Authors’ Contributions

Study concepts by TM, PN, VDN; Study Design by TM, VDN; Data acquisition by TM, PN, NA, RP, SG, TC; Data analysis and interception by TM, VDN; Statistical analysis TM, SSM, VDN, Manuscript preparation TM, VDN; Manuscript editing All authors; Manuscript review by All authors.

Ethical Approval

The study protocol was reviewed and approved by Institutional Ethical Committee and was conducted according to Good Clinical Practice under the Declaration of Helsinki [Reference id: CNCI-IEC-DL-2020-6].

Data Availability and Material

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study has been funded by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)- Human Resource Development Group (HRDG), Government of India; Grant no. 09/030(0085)/2019-EMR-I awarded to Tanuma Mistry.