Sarcopenia as a Predictor of Prognosis and Risk of Recurrence in Patients Following Curative Treatment for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose This study is designed to evaluate the prognostic value of sarcopenia as a predictive method for survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who will receive curative treatment. Methods To determine the influence of sarcopenia on prognosis, skeletal muscle index (SMI) was measured using computed tomography at the level of the third lumbar vertebra of 100 patients who underwent radiofrequency for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). They were followed up for at least 7 months and overall survival and recurrence were identified. We defined sarcopenia using cutoff values for SMI as less than 43.75cm /m for men and 41.10cm /m for women. Results Sarcopenia was present in 54 of 100 patients and correlated significantly with low body mass index (BMI) and DM. Sarcopenia and MELD Na score were significantly associated with poor survival of the patients. Conclusions The study concluded that sarcopenia seemed to have a negative impact on OS in patients with HCCs. Sarcopenia could significantly increase the incidence rates of post-treatment recurrence and overall complications in patients with HCCs.