Sarcopenia is commonly observed in patients with advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

A new study published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle evaluated the association between body composition changes and outcomes of patients with stage III EOC treated with primary debulking surgery (PDS) and adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy.

In this study, pre-treatment and post-treatment computed tomography (CT) images of 139 patients with stage III EOC were analyzed. All CT images were contrast-enhanced scans and were acquired according to a standardized protocol. The skeletal muscle index (SMI), skeletal muscle radiodensity (SMD), and total adipose tissue index were measured using CT images obtained at the L3 vertebral level.

The median follow-up was 37.9 months and the median duration between pre-treatment and post-treatment CT was 182 days. The results showed that:

• Patients experienced an average SMI loss of 1.8%/180 days and SMD loss of 1.7%/180 days.
• SMI and SMD changes were weakly correlated with body mass index (BMI) changes.
• While the modified Glasgow prognostic score was associated with SMI loss.
• The median time to disease recurrence was significantly shorter in patients with SMI loss ≥5% after treatment than in those with SMI loss <5% or gain.
• Meanwhile, pre-treatment SMI and SMI change were independently associated with poorer overall survival.
• SMD, BMI, and total adipose tissue index at baseline and changes were not associated with overall survival.

The findings suggested that skeletal muscle index decreased significantly during treatment and was independently associated with poor overall survival in patients with stage III EOC treated with PDS and adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy. The modified Glasgow prognostic score might be a predictor of SMI loss during treatment.

Source: Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. 2020 Jan 30. doi: 10.1002/jcsm.12524.