Prognostic value of sarcopenia in patients undergoing postesophagectomy adjuvant chemotherapy

To evaluate the correlation of sarcopenia and systemic inflammation indicators with nutritional status and the prognostic value of sarcopenia in patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy after esophageal cancer (EC) surgery.

The clinical data of 78 patients with EC who underwent adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery were collected, and the following metrics were calculated: Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR), fibrinogen/prealbumin ratio (FPR), albumin/fibrinogen ratio, Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI), and Prognostic Nutritional Index.

Of the 78 patients with EC, 50 (64.10%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that sarcopenia was significantly associated with cancer embolus, GNRI, FPR, NLR, PLR, and body mass index. Survival analysis showed that patients with sarcopenia had significantly worse overall survival. Univariate and multivariate survival analysis showed that lymphatic metastasis and sarcopenia were independent factors affecting prognosis.

Sarcopenia is significantly related to lymphatic metastasis, systemic inflammation indicators, and nutritional status. Sarcopenia can serve as a good prognostic factor in patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy after EC surgery.