Obesity is associated with larger soft-tissue sarcomas, more surgical complications, and more complex wound closures (obesity leads to larger soft-tissue sarcomas).
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Does a link exist between obesity and soft-tissue sarcoma outcomes? We hypothesized that soft-tissue sarcomas in patients with obesity may lead to larger tumors at detection, with an increased risk for a more complex surgical excision, wound healing-related complications, higher stage at presentation, and decreased survival. METHODS: One hundred thirty-nine and patients with soft-tissue sarcoma were retrospectively evaluated over 10 years. Patients were divided into 2 cohorts based on the World Health Organization body mass index (BMI) obesity grouping. A BMI30kg/m2 was classified as obese and a BMI<30kg/m2 was classified as nonobese. RESULTS: Eighty-five nonobese and 54 obese individuals were evaluated. The median tumor diameter was 50% larger (P=.024) and the overall complication rate was 1.7-fold higher in patients with obesity (P=.0032). Patients with obesity also had a statistically significantly higher rate of complex wound closures. In multivariable logistic regression, obesity remained a highly significant factor favoring complications after the surgical treatment of soft-tissue sarcoma (odds ratio=3.66, 95% confidence interval=1.54-8.71; P=.0033). No statistically significant differences were noted on comparing groups for the incidence of metastatic spread or survival. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that obesity is associated with larger tumors, a higher incidence of wound complications, and greater use of complex wound-closure methods.
