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Updated: May 9, 2026

Segmentation and Linear Measurement for Body Composition Analysis using Slice-O-Matic and Horos
Published on: March 21, 2021
Body composition and survival in the early clinical trials setting
H Veasey Rodrigues1, V E Baracos, J J Wheler
1Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics (Phase I Clinical Trials Program), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Purpose:
Delineate the relationships between body composition parameters, 90-day mortality and overall survival, and correlate them with known prognostic factors in an early clinical trials clinic.
Patients And Methods:
We studied 306 consecutive patients with various tumours; body composition was analysed by computerised tomography images. Survival was measured from the first clinic visit, at 90-day period and until death/last follow-up visit.
Results:
Median patient age was 56 years; 159 patients were men. Ninety-day mortality rate was 12%. Median overall survival was 9 months. In multivariate analyses, high MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) score (p < 0.0001) [lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) > normal, albumin < normal, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status > 1, metastatic sites > 2, gastrointestinal (GI) tumours], low skeletal muscle index (SMI) (p = 0.0406) and male gender (p = 0.0077) were independent predictors of poor survival. If Royal Marsden Hospital (RMH) score (LDH > normal, albumin
Conclusion:
Patients with low SMI have shorter survival. Gender and SMI strengthens the accuracy of MDACC or RMH scores as prognostic tools. Prospective validation of these findings is warranted.
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