Research Article
Obesity is a Risk Factor for Renal Toxicity and Wound Complications among a Cohort of Pediatric Cancer Patients at a Single Tertiary Care Institution
| Jennifer H Aldrink1*, Catherine Paris2, Wei Wang3, Erin Teeple4, Aaron Wilcox5, Kasi Eastep1, Sarah H O’Brien6 and Marc P Michalsky1 | |
| 1Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Ohio State University College of Medicine, USA | |
| 2Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Surgery, Sherbrooke University Hospital Center, Canada | |
| 3Department of Biostatistics, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, USA | |
| 4Department of General Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA | |
| 5Department of General Surgery, Mount Carmel Health System, USA | |
| 6Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplantation, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, USA | |
| Corresponding Author : | Jennifer H. Aldrink, M.D., FACS, FAAP Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery Nationwide Children’s Hospital Division of Pediatric Surgery 700 Children’s Drive, ED320 Columbus, Ohio 43205, USA Tel: 614-722-0440 Fax: 614-722-3903 E-mail: Jennifer.aldrink@nationwidechildrens.org |
| Received June 20, 2014; Accepted August 21, 2014; Published August 25, 2014 | |
| Citation: Aldrink JH, Paris C, Wang W, Teeple E, Wilcox A, et al. (2014) Obesity is a Risk Factor for Renal Toxicity and Wound Complications among a Cohort of Pediatric Cancer Patients at a Single Tertiary Care Institution. J Obes Weight Loss Ther 4:224. doi:10.4172/2165-7904.1000224 | |
| Copyright: © 2014 Aldrink JH, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | |
Abstract
Background: Evidence exists in the adult literature linking obesity to an elevated risk for the development of certain malignancies, and to an increase in treatment-related complications. Little information is available examining this relationship in the obese pediatric oncology population. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis for all patients with a malignancy and treated at our institution between January, 2005 and December, 2009. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated, categorizing them as obese or nonobese based upon their BMI percentile. Stratification by tumor type (leukemia/lymphoma, solid tumor) was performed. Data on the incidence of fifteen potential complications were recorded. Results: Sixty-three patients (17%) were classified as obese, and 302 (83%) as nonobese. Wound complications occurred more frequently in obese patients with leukemia/lymphoma compared to nonobese patients (13.2% vs. 1.6%, p=0.0075). Renal toxicity occurred more frequently in the obese patients than in the nonobese patients (38.1% vs. 26.2% (p=0.06). Conclusions: In a growing population of obese pediatric patients, certain malignancy-related treatment complications may occur at an increased incidence, including higher rates of renal toxicity and wound complications. This report highlights early treatment-related complications by BMI in pediatric patients with cancer, and demonstrates the need for an individualized approach in treating this population.
