Association of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue with overall survival in Taiwanese patients with bone metastases – results from a retrospective analysis of consecutively collected data

Background Growing evidence indicates that measures of body composition may be related to clinical outcomes in patients with malignancies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether measures of regional adiposity–including subcutaneous adipose tissue index (SATI) and visceral adipose tissue index (VATI)–can be associated with overall survival (OS) in Taiwanese patients with bone metastases. Methods This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. We examined 1280 patients with bone metastases who had undergone radiotherapy (RT) between March 2005 and August 2013. Body composition (SATI, VATI, and muscle index) was assessed by computed tomography at the third lumbar vertebra and normalized for patient height. Patients were divided into low- and high-adiposity groups (for both SATI and VATI) according to sex-specific median values. Results Both SATI (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.696; P<0.001) and VATI (HR: 0.87; P = 0.037)–but not muscle index–were independently associated with a more favorable OS, with the former showing a stronger relationship. The most favorable OS was observed in women with high SATI (11.21 months; 95% confidence interval: 9.434−12.988; P<0.001). Conclusions High SATI and VATI are associated with a more favorable OS in Taiwanese patients with bone metastases referred for RT. The question as to whether clinical measures aimed at improving adiposity may improve OS in this clinical population deserves further scrutiny.