What Is BSA-Based Chemotherapy Dosing?
Body surface area (BSA) is the total area of skin covering the body, and chemotherapy drug doses are often set based on BSA (mg/m²) rather than weight alone. This calculator finds your BSA using the widely used Mosteller formula (BSA = √(height(cm) × weight(kg) ÷ 3600)), and if you enter the mg/m² value prescribed by your doctor, it shows the reference total dose.
Why BSA Instead of Weight?
BSA correlates more closely with cardiac output, blood flow, and kidney/liver metabolic rate than weight alone, which helps account for how drug distribution and toxicity can vary between people of the same weight but different body composition. This is why BSA is widely used not just for chemotherapy but also for some IV fluid and pediatric drug dosing calculations.
What This Calculator Is For
This tool is meant only to quickly calculate BSA and multiply it by an already-prescribed mg/m² value for reference. Deciding which drug to use, how much, or what the mg/m² value itself should be requires a physician's professional judgment based on staging, liver/kidney function, prior treatment response, and concurrent medications.
Important Notes
The figures from this calculator are reference estimates only and should never be used to make actual prescribing or dosing decisions. Chemotherapy dosage must always be determined individually through consultation with your oncologist, and this tool does not replace diagnosis or treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
The most widely used Mosteller formula is BSA(m²) = √(height(cm) × weight(kg) ÷ 3600).
BSA correlates more closely with cardiac output, blood flow, and metabolic rate than weight alone, making it a more reliable predictor of toxicity and efficacy.
No. Actual chemotherapy dosing must always be determined by your oncologist based on your individual condition.