The association of malnutrition and sarcopenia with geriatric assessment impairment and outcomes in patients with bladder cancer undergoing cystectomy.

Abstract

423 Background: Malnutrition and sarcopenia are linked to decreased functional status in older adults with malignancy, but their effect on geriatric assessment (GA) impairment in patients with bladder cancer (BC) undergoing radical cystectomy (RC) is unknown. We investigated the association between malnutrition and sarcopenia with GA impairment and postoperative outcomes. Methods: Patients with BC undergoing RC between 2012 – 2019 were enrolled in a prospective cohort study of GA before RC. Malnutrition was evaluated by a dietitian pre-RC per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition diagnostic criteria. Sarcopenia, defined by a skeletal muscle index of < 52.4 cm2/m2 in males and < 38.5 cm2/m2 in females, was determined using SliceOmatic software to analyze pre-RC CT images at the L3 vertebra. Patients with vs without malnutrition and those with vs without sarcopenia were compared using Fisher’s exact and Wilcoxon rank sum tests. Results: Of 73 patients, 59 had GA + nutrition evaluation and 51 had GA + sarcopenia assessment (overall median age 68 [IQR 62-74], 76% male). The prevalence of malnutrition was 7% and sarcopenia was 63%. A numerically greater proportion of patients with malnutrition or sarcopenia were impaired on ≥ 1 GA measure compared to those without malnutrition (100% vs 78%, p=0.57) or sarcopenia (78% vs 68%, p=0.52), although this was not statistically significant (Table). Median hospital length of stay (LOS) was increased for patients with vs without sarcopenia (4 vs 5 days, p=0.005). Post-RC complication rate was similar for patients with vs without malnutrition (100% vs 75%, p=0.56) and patients with vs without sarcopenia (81% vs 74%, p=0.73), but malnourished patients were more likely to have Clavien-Dindo grade 3+ complications than those without malnutrition (100% vs 27%, p = 0.009). Conclusions: In our cohort of patients with BC undergoing RC, those with malnutrition or sarcopenia may have an increased rate of impairment on GA compared to those without malnutrition or sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was associated with increased LOS while malnutrition was associated with increased major complications. Our results are limited by small sample size, and future work is needed to elucidate whether addressing these modifiable factors improves functional status and postoperative outcomes. Research Sponsor: U.S. National Institutes of Health[Table: see text]