Relation of excess body weight and survival in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma: a meta-analysis

Excess body weight (body mass index >25 kg/m(2)) is common in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed by searching PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Science Direct databases from 1960 to June 2012. Data were extracted from studies comparing survival in obese (body mass index >30), overweight (body mass index 25-29), and normal-weight (body mass index 20-24) patients undergoing esophagectomy. A total of six studies with 1988 cases were suitable for this global meta-analysis. Compared with patients of normal weight, the hazard ratio of postoperational survival for overweight and obese patients was 0.79 (95% confidence interval 0.65-0.95, P = 0.108) and 0.80 (95% confidence interval 0.68-0.93, P = 1.00), respectably. Taken together, the excess body weight did not have the value of predicting survival for patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma.