Related Experiment Video For Body composition
Updated: Jul 5, 2025
Non-invasive Skeletal Muscle Quantification in Small Animals Using Micro-computed Tomography
Published on: November 8, 2024
Analysis of muscle mass by computed tomography in patients with head and neck cancer: a prospective study
Thais Manfrinato Miola1, Almir Galvão Vieira Bitencourt1, Juliana de Oliveira Souza1
1A.C.Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Objective:
To evaluate the preoperative muscle mass of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) with computed tomography (CT), comparing the results obtained through analysis of cross-sectional areas at the level of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) with those obtained through analysis of cross-sectional areas at the levels of the third cervical and fourth thoracic vertebrae (C3 and T4, respectively).
Materials And Methods:
A total of 63 patients with HNC were evaluated preoperatively. Using CT, we assessed muscle mass at L3, as well as at C3 and T4.
Results:
Most (73.0%) of the patients had low muscle mass at L3, whereas 50.8% had a normal body mass index. The cross-sectional area at L3 correlated strongly with those at C3 and T4 (r = 0.831 and r = 0.763, respectively; p < 0.001 for both). In addition, the muscle mass index at L3 correlated strongly with those at C3 and T4 (r = 0.781 and r = 0.715, respectively; p < 0.001 for both).
Conclusion:
Low muscle mass appears to be highly prevalent in patients with HNC. Measurements at C3 and T4 could represent alternative means of assessing muscle mass in such patients.
