Clinical implication of preoperative psoas muscle area in endometrial cancer patients

Obesity is a significant risk factor for endometrial cancer. In contrast, sarcopenia describes a loss of the body's muscle mass that is closely related to unfavorable clinical outcomes. Even endometrial cancer patients have high rates of obesity, and they should have a significantly higher risk for undiagnosed sarcopenia or fragile muscle quality.

This is a retrospective study that included an endometrial cancer database collected from a tertiary gynecologic cancer center. We investigated the relationship between preoperative psoas muscle area by magnetic resonance imaging, surgical outcomes and pathological features.

The study included 116 patients, the mean height was 160 cm (Standart deviation 7), weight was 72 kg (Standart deviation 18), and the median duration of hospitalization was 4 days (Interquartile range 2-9) in the whole study group. Sarcopenia was diagnosed in 25 (21.6%) patients, according to the magnetic resonance imaging findings. Three (6.5%) obese patients had sarcopenia, but it was 31.4% in nonobese patients (p=0.026). The median duration of hospitalization was five days (3-9 days) in the sarcopenia group, and it was four days (2-7 days) in the non-sarcopenia group.

Sarcopenic patients did not have increased surgical complication rates following uterine cancer surgery. We should be aware of hospitalization duration in those patients, and sarcopenic counterparts necessitate longer follow-up after the surgery.