Clinical Impact of Sarcopenia on Cholangiocarcinoma

• Published in: Life (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 6; p. 815
• Main Authors: Shin, Suk-Pyo, Koh, Dong-Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.05.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Abdomen; Bile ducts; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Cholangiocarcinoma; Clinical trials; Disease; Hepatectomy; Heterogeneity; Liver; Magnetic resonance imaging; Measurement methods; Medical prognosis; Morbidity; Mortality; Muscle strength; Muscles; Musculoskeletal system; Patients; Prognosis; Psoas muscle; Review; Sarcopenia; Sepsis; Skeletal muscle; Survival; Working groups; cholangiocarcinoma; prognosis; survival; sarcopenia
• ISSN: 2075-1729; 2075-1729
• DOI: 10.3390/life12060815

Sarcopenia is considered an important factor affecting the prognosis of cancer patients. Only complete surgical resection confers the chance of curing cholangiocarcinoma with sarcopenia. However, the prognosis is poor, even for patients who undergo surgical resection. Data from 13 trials of patients with sarcopenia and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) or perihilar cholangiocarcinoma (PHC) were collected and reviewed. During all trials, sarcopenia was assessed using the psoas muscle or total skeletal muscle at the L3 level on cross-sectional images. The data showed heterogeneity among the subjects and treatment options and discrepancies in methods of measuring muscle mass and setting the cut-off level. Despite conflicting results regarding morbidity, mortality, and recurrence, sarcopenia may be associated with poor overall survival and recurrence-free survival (RFS) for ICC patients. The impact of sarcopenia on the morbidity of ICC patients remains unclear. The impact of PHC on morbidity, mortality, and RFS is also unclear. Further well-designed studies are needed to elucidate the effects of sarcopenia on ICC and PHC.