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Cespiati A, Smith D, Lombardi R, Fracanzani AL. The Negative Impact of Sarcopenia on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment Outcomes. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:2315. [PMID: 39001378 PMCID: PMC11240545 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16132315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents a major global health concern, characterized by evolving etiological patterns and a range of treatment options. Among various prognostic factors, sarcopenia, characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and function, has emerged as a pivotal contributor to HCC outcomes. Focusing on liver transplantation, surgical resection, locoregional treatments, and systemic therapies, this review aims to analyze the impact of sarcopenia on HCC treatment outcomes, shedding light on an underexplored subject in the pursuit of more personalized management. METHODS A comprehensive literature review was conducted by searching peer-reviewed articles on sarcopenia and treatment outcomes in patients with HCC from inception up to October 2023. RESULTS Sarcopenia was found to be prevalent among HCC patients, exhibiting different occurrence, possibly attributable to diverse diagnostic criteria. Notably, despite variations in studies utilizing skeletal muscle indices, sarcopenia independently correlated with lower overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) across surgical (both transplantation and resection), locoregional, and systemic therapies, including tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Moreover, a link between sarcopenia and increased rate and severity of adverse events, particularly in surgery and TKIs recipients, and larger tumor size at diagnosis was observed. While baseline sarcopenia negatively influenced treatment outcomes, alterations in muscle mass post-treatment emerged as primary determinants of reduced OS. CONCLUSIONS Sarcopenia, either present before or after HCC treatment, negatively correlates with response to it, across all etiologies and therapeutic strategies. Although only a few studies have evaluated the impact of supervised physical activity training on muscle mass and OS after HCC treatment, it is crucial to evaluate the presence of sarcopenia before treatment initiation, to better stratify patients' prognosis, thus performing a more tailored approach, and identify therapies able to restore muscle mass in HCC patients. Conversely, the impact of sarcopenia on HCC recurrence and extrahepatic spread remains inadequately explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Cespiati
- SC Medicina ad Indirizzo Metabolico, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; (D.S.); (R.L.); (A.L.F.)
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Daniel Smith
- SC Medicina ad Indirizzo Metabolico, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; (D.S.); (R.L.); (A.L.F.)
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Rosa Lombardi
- SC Medicina ad Indirizzo Metabolico, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; (D.S.); (R.L.); (A.L.F.)
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Anna Ludovica Fracanzani
- SC Medicina ad Indirizzo Metabolico, Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, via F. Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; (D.S.); (R.L.); (A.L.F.)
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
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Esposto G, Borriello R, Galasso L, Termite F, Mignini I, Cerrito L, Ainora ME, Gasbarrini A, Zocco MA. Ultrasound Evaluation of Sarcopenia in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Faster and Easier Way to Detect Patients at Risk. Diagnostics (Basel) 2024; 14:371. [PMID: 38396410 PMCID: PMC10887735 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14040371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 01/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The condition of sarcopenia, defined as a progressive loss of musculoskeletal mass and muscular strength, is very common in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and presents a remarkable association with its prognosis. Thus, the early identification of sarcopenic patients represents one of the potential new approaches in the global assessment of HCC, and there is increasing interest regarding the potential therapeutic implications of this condition. The gold standard for the quantification of muscle mass is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT), but these techniques are not always feasible because of the high-cost equipment needed. A new possibility in sarcopenia identification could be muscle ultrasound examination. The measurement of specific parameters such as the muscle thickness, muscular fascicles length or pennation angle has shown a good correlation with CT or MRI values and a good diagnostic accuracy in the detection of sarcopenia. Recently, these results were also confirmed specifically in patients with chronic liver disease. This review summarizes the role of imaging for the diagnosis of sarcopenia in patients with HCC, focusing on the advantages and disadvantages of the diagnostic techniques currently validated for this aim and the future perspectives for the identification of this condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giorgio Esposto
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Raffaele Borriello
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Linda Galasso
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Termite
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Irene Mignini
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Lucia Cerrito
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Elena Ainora
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Gasbarrini
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Assunta Zocco
- CEMAD Digestive Disease Center, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario "A.Gemelli" IRCCS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Rome, Italy
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Zhu Z, Gong H, Gu J, Dai Y, Yang C, Mao M, Song A, Feng F. Development and validation of a preoperative CT-based risk scoring system for predicting recurrence-free survival in patients undergoing curative surgery for gastric cancer. Eur J Radiol 2024; 171:111303. [PMID: 38215532 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2024.111303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Revised: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE The objective of this study was to establish and validate a preoperative risk scoring system that incorporated both clinical and computed tomography(CT) variables to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) in gastric cancer(GC) patients who underwent curative resection. METHOD We retrospectively included consecutive patients with surgically confirmed GC who underwent preoperative CT scans between October 2017 and January 2022. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was employed in the derivation set to identify clinical and CT variables associated with RFS and to construct a risk score. This risk score was subsequently validated in an independent test set. RESULTS A total of 346 patients were included in the study, with 213 in the derivation set and 133 in the test set. Five variables, namely ctEMVI, ctBorrmann, visceral obesity, sarcopenia, and NLR, were independently associated with RFS. In the test set, the preoperative risk score exhibited a c-index of 0.741, which outperformed the predictive accuracy of pathological tumor staging (c-index of 0.673, p = 0.021) at various time points. The preoperative risk score effectively stratified patients into low and high-risk groups. CONCLUSION The developed preoperative risk scoring system demonstrated the ability to predict RFS following curative resection in GC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengqi Zhu
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Haipeng Gong
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jianan Gu
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yongfeng Dai
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Chunyan Yang
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Mimi Mao
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Anyi Song
- Radiology Department, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Feng Feng
- Radiology Department, Jiangsu Province Nantong City Cancer Hospital, Nantong 226300, Jiangsu Province, China.
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Imai K, Takai K, Unome S, Miwa T, Hanai T, Suetsugu A, Shimizu M. Lenvatinib Exacerbates the Decrease in Skeletal Muscle Mass in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Whereas Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab Does Not. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:442. [PMID: 38275883 PMCID: PMC10814020 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16020442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate chronological changes in skeletal muscle index (SMI), subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue indices (SATI and VATI), AFP, PIVKA-II, and ALBI scores during atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (AB) or lenvatinib (LEN) treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the effect of these changes on survival. A total of 94 patients with HCC (37 were on AB and 57 on LEN) were enrolled. SMI, SATI, VATI, AFP, PIVKA-II, and ALBI scores were analyzed at the time of the treatment introduction (Intro), 3 months after the introduction (3M), at drug discontinuation (End), and the last observational time (Last). The differences between chronological changes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon paired test. The independent predictors for survival and the changes in SMI during AB or LEN (c-SMI%) were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model treating all these factors as time-varying covariates and the analysis of covariance, respectively. SMI in the AB group was maintained over time (42.9-44.0-40.6-44.2 cm2/m2), whereas that in the LEN group significantly decreased during the Intro-3M (p < 0.05) and 3M-End (p < 0.05) period (46.5-45.1-42.8-42.1 cm2/m2). SMI (p < 0.001) was an independent predictor for survival together with AFP (p = 0.004) and ALBI score (p < 0.001). Drug choice (AB or LEN; p = 0.038) and PIVKA-II (p < 0.001) were extracted as independent predictors for c-SMI%. AB treatment was significantly superior to LEN in terms of maintaining skeletal muscle, which is an independent predictor for survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenji Imai
- Department of Gastroenterology/Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194, Japan; (K.T.); (S.U.); (T.H.); (A.S.); (M.S.)
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Nam H, Yang H, Chun HS, Lee HA, Nam JY, Jang JW, Seo YS, Kim DY, Kim YJ, Bae SH. Impact of Low Skeletal Muscle Mass on Long-Term Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Trans-Arterial Radioembolization: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5195. [PMID: 37958368 PMCID: PMC10647696 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15215195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Trans-arterial radioembolization (TARE) is a form of radiation therapy performed for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via selective intra-arterial injection of Yttrium-90-loaded microspheres. This was a multi-center retrospective study of consecutive patients with HCC who underwent TARE between July 2009 and May 2019. Using pre-treatment computed tomography imaging, the total cross-sectional area (cm2) of the abdominal skeletal muscle at the third lumbar vertebra was measured. The skeletal muscle index (SMI) was calculated by normalizing the muscle area to patient height. In total, 347 patients (median age, 65 years; 284 male) were included in the study. A total of 108 (31.1%) patients had portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT), and 126 (36.3%) were classified as LSMM. The median overall survival (OS) was 28.1 months (95% CI, 24.8-35.7), and median progression-free survival was 8.0 months (95% CI, 6.4-9.4). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that LSMM (hazard ratio [HR], 1.36; 95% CI, 1.00-1.85, p = 0.05), PVTT (HR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.33-2.49, p < 0.01), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (≥200 ng/mL) (HR 1.41; 95% CI, 1.04-1.92, p = 0.03), and albumin-bilirubin grade (2-3) (HR 1.74; 95% CI, 1.24-2.43, p < 0.01) were independently associated with poor OS. TARE provided favorable long-term outcomes for patients with advanced HCC. Pre-treatment LSMM independently associated with survival, suggesting its utility as a surrogate biomarker for identifying TARE candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heechul Nam
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea; (H.N.); (H.Y.); (J.W.J.)
- Liver Research Center, The Catholic University, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun Yang
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea; (H.N.); (H.Y.); (J.W.J.)
- Liver Research Center, The Catholic University, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Ho Soo Chun
- Departments of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Republic of Korea; (H.S.C.); (H.A.L.)
| | - Han Ah Lee
- Departments of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 07985, Republic of Korea; (H.S.C.); (H.A.L.)
| | - Joon Yeul Nam
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea; (J.Y.N.); (Y.J.K.)
| | - Jeong Won Jang
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea; (H.N.); (H.Y.); (J.W.J.)
- Liver Research Center, The Catholic University, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeon Seok Seo
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Korea University, Anam Hospital, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea;
| | - Do Young Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei Liver Center, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Severance Hospital, Seoul 03772, Republic of Korea;
| | - Yoon Jun Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 03080, Republic of Korea; (J.Y.N.); (Y.J.K.)
| | - Si Hyun Bae
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea; (H.N.); (H.Y.); (J.W.J.)
- Liver Research Center, The Catholic University, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea
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