PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - JANICE B. HU
AU  - SURYA RAVICHANDRAN
AU  - CHRISTEL RUSHING
AU  - GEORGIA M. BEASLEY
AU  - BRENT A. HANKS
AU  - SIN-HO JUNG
AU  - APRIL K.S. SALAMA
AU  - LISA HO
AU  - PAUL J. MOSCA
TI  - Higher BMI, But Not Sarcopenia, Is Associated With Pembrolizumab-related Toxicity in Patients With Advanced Melanoma
AID  - 10.21873/anticanres.14528
DP  - 2020 Sep 01
TA  - Anticancer Research
PG  - 5245--5254
VI  - 40
IP  - 9
4099  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/40/9/5245.short
4100  - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/40/9/5245.full
SO  - Anticancer Res2020 Sep 01; 40
AB  - Background/Aim: To determine whether BMI and sarcopenia were related to treatment-limiting toxicity or efficacy of pembrolizumab treatment in melanoma patients. Patients and Methods: Medical records for melanoma patients undergoing pembrolizumab treatment at Duke University from January 2014 to September 2018 were reviewed. Pre-treatment measurements such as BMI were collected. Pre-treatment CT imaging was used to determine psoas muscle index (PMI). Patients in the lowest sex-specific tertile of PMI were sarcopenic. Logistic regression measured associations with treatment toxicity and response. Kaplan-Meier analysis assessed progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Results: Among 156 patients, the overall objective response rate was 46.2% and 29 patients (18.6%) experienced treatment-limiting toxicity. Sarcopenia was not significantly associated with toxicity, response, or survival. However, obese patients (BMI >30) experienced higher rates of toxicity (p=0.0007). Conclusion: Sarcopenia did not appear to predict clinically relevant outcomes. Obesity, however, represents a readily available predictor of pembrolizumab toxicity.