Impact of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes after hepatectomy in older patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: A multicentre cohort study

• Published in: Liver international Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 155 - 168
• Main Authors: Zhao, Zhengxiao, Bo, Zhiyuan, Ye, Ni, Dong, Yulong, Xu, Yingfei, Wang, Binbin, Yang, Facai, Liu, Liwei, Liu, Zhendong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2024
• Subjects: Aged; Bile Duct Neoplasms - pathology; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic - pathology; Blood transfusion; Cholangiocarcinoma; Cholangiocarcinoma - pathology; Computed tomography; Hepatectomy; Hepatectomy - adverse effects; Humans; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; Lymphatic Metastasis - pathology; Medical prognosis; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Multivariate analysis; myosteatosis; older people; Postoperative period; Prognosis; Regression analysis; Retrospective Studies; Risk factors; Sarcopenia; Sarcopenia - complications; Sarcopenia - diagnostic imaging; Serum albumin; Skeletal muscle; Subgroups; Survival; hepatectomy; older people; intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; myosteatosis; sarcopenia
• ISSN: 1478-3223; 1478-3231
• DOI: 10.1111/liv.15757

Background and Aims Sarcopenia is associated with poor prognosis, but its role in older patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of older patients with ICC undergoing hepatectomy. Methods A total of 363 patients with ICC following hepatectomy from 2015 to 2021 were retrospectively reviewed at five institutions. Sarcopenia was evaluated using skeletal muscle index by computed tomography images. Patients were divided into four subgroups according to sarcopenia and age. Postoperative outcomes including complication, overall survival (OS) and recurrence‐free survival (RFS) were evaluated. Risk factors were identified through univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results 302 patients were included in the analysis. The median age was 63 years and there were 128 patients (42.4%) aged over 65 years. 192 patients (63.6%) were diagnosed with sarcopenia, while 180 patients (59.6%) experienced myosteatosis. Older patients experienced a higher incidence of sarcopenia and myosteatosis, and worse postoperative outcomes than younger patients. In the subgroup of patients with sarcopenia, older patients experienced a significant shorter OS than younger patients, which was not observed in patients without sarcopenia. According to the multivariate Cox regression analysis, lymphatic metastasis (p < .001), blood transfusion (p = .004), low serum albumin (p = .051), sarcopenia (p = .024), and myosteatosis (p = .004) were identified as independent risk factors of OS in older patients, meanwhile tumour size (p = .013) and lymphatic metastasis (p < .001) were independent risk factors of RFS. Conclusions Sarcopenia and myosteatosis have a significant adverse impact on postoperative outcomes in older patients with ICC undergoing hepatectomy.