Sarcopenia in Patients With Spinal Metastasis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Retrospective Cohort Studies

Background

As a metastasis cancer that happens up to 70% of the cancer patients, spinal metastasis is drawing attention for its significant impairment to health. There exist several predictive models designed to estimate mortality in spinal metastasis patients but they are reported with limited accuracy. In recent years, some retrospective cohort studies have been carried out to associate sarcopenia with mortality in spinal metastasis.

Introduction

As a risk factor leading to adverse events in many diseases, sarcopenia was considered to significantly impact on patients with spinal metastasis in mortality by some scientists. We aimed to look through the current evidence and use statistic measures to value the role of sarcopenia in spinal metastasis. In this study, we are going to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of available retrospective cohort studies where sarcopenia is assessed for outcomes in spinal metastasis patients.

Methods

On October 7, 2021, we performed a search in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. We set no restrictions on language, date or areas. Results were expressed as hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI by random effects model. Sensitivity analyses were performed to explore sources of heterogeneity and stability of results.

Results

Of the 4,196 papers screened, 10 retrospective cohort studies were included, with a total of 1,674 patients. Results showed that sarcopenia was associated with higher overall mortality (OR, 1.60; 95% CI 1.35–1.90) and lower overall survival (HR, 2.08; 95% CI 1.55–2.80). The sensitivity analysis proved the stability of results in terms of publication years, region, time of diagnosis, sample size, female rate, measurement and follow up period.

Conclusions

Sarcopenia is a robust indicator of mortality in spinal metastasis patients and it might be applied to decision-making tools to assess survival probability and adjust the extent of treatment, while a lack of higher level of evidence is existing.

Systematic Review Registration

PROSPERO CRD42021283348.

Sarcopenia for outcomes in patients undergoing spinal surgery: A protocol for a systematic review and pooled analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND

Sarcopenia is a progressive age-related skeletal muscle disorder characterized by decreased muscle mass and loss of muscle function. Recent studies have shown that sarcopenia is able to predict a variety of clinical outcomes after spinal surgery. Controversy still exists among previous reports in terms of the definition and measurement of sarcopenia, these findings are heterogeneous so far. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to assess the up-to-date evidence of sarcopenia for postoperative outcomes among people undergoing spinal surgery.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This protocol was carried out based on the preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) statement. It has been pre-registered in PROSPERO with the registration number of CRD42021260459. Three databases (including Pubmed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) will be searched from inception through May 10, 2021 to determine related cohort studies examining sarcopenia on multidimensional outcomes in patients undergoing spinal surgery. Major outcomes will be involved including mortality, morbidity, length of stay, postoperative complications or adverse events. DerSimonian & Laird random-effects meta-analysis will be used to calculate pooled odds ratio (OR) for binary data and pooled weighted mean differences (WMDs) or standardized mean differences (SMDs) for continuous data. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) will be used to assess the risk of bias of included studies. Narrative synthesis will be carried out if a pooled analysis is not possible.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval is not required for this study as the data involved are from the published literatures. We intend to disseminate or share the results of the study in a peer-reviewed journal or at relevant conferences.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42021260459.