Assessment of body composition, rather than Body Mass Index (BMI), could help to better plan chemotherapy and reduce drug-related toxicities. In our COMBOTOX study in breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemo, a higher FM was associated with a higher rate of neurological and hematologic toxicities in protocols containing Platinum. Moreover, patients with a low FFM% have a higher risk for hematologic toxicity in protocols containing Platinum.
Body composition and chemo toxicities
Current dosing is based on body weight and predicted Body Surface Area (BSA). These parameters do not take into consideration the individual variations of fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) that affect pharmacokinetics.