Patients with cervical cancer without visceral obesity had better treatment outcomes

Background: Obesity is associated with malignant tumor development and may affect cancer outcomes. This study is to assess the relationship between the visceral fat-subcutaneous fat ratio (V/S ratio) and overall survival (OS) in cervical cancer patients. Methods: We studied the data of patients with stage I-III cervical cancer who received definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) from 2010 to 2013 at a single institution. Their visceral and subcutaneous fat areas were delineated from simulated CT images obtained at the L4 level before radiotherapy. A V/S ratio threshold of 0.55 was set for defining visceral obesity; a V/S threshold of ≥0.55 was considered to indicate visceral obesity. Results: A total of 25 women were included for analysis. The 5-year survival rate was 60% in all patients. The 5-year survival rate was 82.5% in patients with a V/S ratio of <55% and 30.3% in those with a V/S ratio of ≥55%. The association between OS and the V/S ratio was statistically significant (P=0.021). Conclusions: Patients without visceral obesity had a higher OS than did those with visceral obesity.