Abstract PO1-11-09: Body composition correlates with BMI and menopausal status in patients with breast cancer
Authors: Tsou Terrence , Wang Tingchang , Blackford Amanda , Summers Ronald , Stearns Vered , Sheng Jennifer 
Published: May 2024

Background: Obesity is associated with higher risk of breast cancer (BC)-related death, all-cause mortality, and recurrence. While used to estimate body fat, body mass index (BMI) is insensitive to body fat distribution and lean muscle mass. We hypothesized that BMI categories (BMI 18.5-24.9 [healthy], 25-29.9 [overweight], and ≥30 kg/m2 [obesity]) would not correlate with CT-derived body composition. Methods: We retrospectively identified 180 patients diagnosed with new or recurrent Stage I-IV BC who presented to Johns Hopkins from 2015-2018 and were part of an institutional database. We extracted demographics, diagnosis date, cancer characteristics, BMI, and CT abdomen pelvis scans from the medical record. Baseline BMI was defined as the closest measurement to diagnosis between 1 year prior and 1 month after diagnosis. Baseline CT was within 6 months of and closest to the baseline BMI date. Fully automated deep-learning algorithms identified L1 and performed muscle and adipose tissue segmentation and quantification. Body composition data included: cross-sectional areas (CSA) of subcutaneous, visceral, and total adipose tissue; the mean, median, and standard deviation of the average of the muscle attenuation (density); and the body wall musculature CSA. ANOVA tests assessed associations between body composition, BMI, and menopausal status. Results: Among 180 patients, 136 (76%) had early-stage BC, and 44 (24%) had metastatic BC. Most patients were women (98%) and non-Hispanic (94%). Patients identified as White (57%), Black (29%), Asian (6%), and Other Race (8%). Sixty percent were post-menopausal. Hormone receptor-positive, HER2-positive, and triple negative subtypes were 56%, 19% and 22%, respectively. At diagnosis, 24% had a healthy BMI while 36% and 41% had overweight and obesity, respectively. All body composition measures were significantly associated with BMI (Table 1). As BMI increased, the average body wall musculature and subcutaneous, visceral, and total adipose tissue CSAs increased while the average muscle attenuation decreased. Specifically, the average visceral adipose tissue CSAs were 2.7 and 4.0-fold larger for overweight and obesity compared to that of the healthy BMI group, respectively, while their average muscle attenuations were 62.4% and 40.6% of the healthy BMI group. Postmenopausal women had 1.5-fold higher visceral adipose tissue CSA and 44.7% less average muscle attenuation compared to premenopausal women. Conclusion: Body composition correlates with all BMI categories in primarily white, non-Hispanic women with breast cancer. As BMI increases, body composition changes reliably, with increased subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, increased muscle area, and decreased muscle density. Muscle density, not size/area, is more associated with muscle performance, which can relate to functional status and outcomes. Despite validity concerns, BMI is an accessible and economical surrogate for body adiposity in patients with breast cancer. Postmenopausal status was also associated with greater visceral and total adiposity and lower muscle density. Further investigation is needed to confirm these findings.

Table 1: Correlation between body composition, BMI, and menopausal status in patients with breast cancer

All measures of body composition were significantly associated with BMI. Visceral adipose tissue increased and muscle density decreased as BMI increased and with post-menopausal status.

Citation Format: Terrence Tsou, Tingchang Wang, Amanda Blackford, Ronald Summers, Vered Stearns, Jennifer Sheng. Body composition correlates with BMI and menopausal status in patients with breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO1-11-09.