Clinical implication of preoperative psoas muscle area in endometrial cancer patients

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Obesity is a significant risk factor for endometrial cancer. In contrast, sarcopenia describes a loss of the body’s muscle mass that is closely related to unfavorable clinical outcomes. Even endometrial cancer patients have high rates of obesity, and they should have a significantly higher risk for undiagnosed sarcopenia or fragile muscle quality. METHODS: This is a retrospective study that included an endometrial cancer database collected from a tertiary gynecologic cancer center. We investigated the relationship between preoperative psoas muscle area by magnetic resonance imaging, surgical outcomes and pathological features. RESULTS: The study included 116 patients, the mean height was 160 cm (Standart deviation 7), weight was 72 kg (Standart deviation 18), and the median duration of hospitalization was 4 days (Interquartile range 2–9) in the whole study group. Sarcopenia was diagnosed in 25 (21.6%) patients, according to the magnetic resonance imaging findings. Three (6.5%) obese patients had sarcopenia, but it was 31.4% in nonobese patients (p=0.026). The median duration of hospitalization was five days (3–9 days) in the sarcopenia group, and it was four days (2–7 days) in the non-sarcopenia group. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenic patients did not have increased surgical complication rates following uterine cancer surgery. We should be aware of hospitalization duration in those patients, and sarcopenic counterparts necessitate longer follow-up after the surgery.