To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) developed evidence-based recommendations on giving doses of chemotherapy that are based on a patient's actual weight. This guide for patients is based on ASCO recommendations and is intended for people who are obese.

Key Messages

• Research on patients with cancer who are obese (extremely overweight) shows that they are more likely to die from cancer than those who are not obese, which may be partially due to how chemotherapy doses are determined.
• Giving chemotherapy based on actual weight for patients who are obese often increases the dose, which makes treatment more effective without causing additional side effects.