ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Precision Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1642980
This article is part of the Research TopicDigital Technologies in Hepatology: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Epidemiological InsightsView all 13 articles
Analysis of factors influencing the increase of extracellular water ratio in tumor patients without edema signs
Provisionally accepted
- Affiliated Anqing First People's Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anqing, China
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Objective: This study aims to examine the factors contributing to the increase in extracellular water to total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) among tumor patients without visible edema, and to offer insights into the diagnosis and prompt management of early water retention in such patients. Methods: A cohort of 274 tumor patients admitted to Anqing First People's Hospital, affiliated with Anhui Medical University between December 2020 and December 2022, were selected, excluding those with clinically observable edema. General clinical data, main laboratory test outcomes, and body composition indices were gathered. Valuable variables were identified for linear regression analysis using ECW/TBW, based on professional knowledge and univariate analysis results. Results: Age, gender, hemoglobin, serum sodium, serum potassium, and phase angle (PA) were determined as independent influencing factors for elevated ECW/TBW. ECW/TBW increased with age (partial regression coefficient B=0.009, P=0.001), was higher in males than in females (B=-0.349, P<0.001), and was negatively affected by hemoglobin (Hgb) (B=-0.003, P=0.039). Serum sodium had a positive influence on ECW/TBW (B=0.019, P=0.011), while serum potassium exhibited a negative effect (B=-0.180, P=0.001). PA was the most influential factor among all independent variables affecting ECW/TBW (B=-1.006, P<0.001). Nonetheless, Performance Status (PS) score, Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) score, tumor stage, prealbumin, albumin, and body fat percentage were not identified as independent factors influencing elevated ECW/TBW.The early factors influencing water retention in tumor patients primarily stem from abnormal cell membrane function, but are also impacted by age, gender, anemia, and electrolyte levels. Timely body composition testing can assist in subsequent intervention decision-making.
Keywords: ECW/TBW, tumor, Body Composition, phase angle, Edema
Received: 07 Jun 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Gan, Jiang, Bao, Liu and Yu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jiawen Yu, Affiliated Anqing First People's Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anqing, China
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