Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 28, 2024; 30(8): 863-880
Published online Feb 28, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i8.863
Evaluating the influence of sarcopenia and myosteatosis on clinical outcomes in gastric cancer patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor
Gui-Ming Deng, Hai-Bin Song, Zhong-Ze Du, Ying-Wei Xue, Hong-Jiang Song, Yuan-Zhou Li
Gui-Ming Deng, Hai-Bin Song, Zhong-Ze Du, Ying-Wei Xue, Hong-Jiang Song, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China
Yuan-Zhou Li, Department of Radiology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China
Co-first authors: Gui-Ming Deng and Hai-Bin Song.
Co-corresponding authors: Hong-Jiang Song and Yuan-Zhou Li.
Author contributions: Deng GM and Song HB contributed equally to this work; Deng GM, Song HB, Du ZZ, Xue YW, Song HJ and Li YZ designed the research study; Deng GM, Song HB, Du ZZ and Li YZ performed the research; Xue YW, Song HJ and Li YZ provided data and funding for the experiment; Deng GM and Song HB analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Data sharing statement: The material supporting the conclusion of this article has been included within the article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yuan-Zhou Li, PhD, Professor, Department of Radiology, Harbin Medical University Cancer Hospital, No. 150 Haping Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China. 830667@hrbmu.edu.cn
Received: December 20, 2023
Peer-review started: December 20, 2023
First decision: January 6, 2024
Revised: January 16, 2024
Accepted: February 1, 2024
Article in press: February 1, 2024
Published online: February 28, 2024
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The evolution and progression of gastric cancer (GC) is closely associated with the nutritional status of patients. The laboratory indices currently used to assess the nutritional status of patients have limitations.

Research motivation

The presence or absence of sarcopenia and myosteatosis are objective indicators of the nutritional status of patients, and muscle mass status influences the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) therapy.

Research objectives

This study aims to investigate the effects of sarcopenia and sarcopenia on the clinical prognosis of patients with GC being treated with ICIs.

Research methods

We studied 115 patients with GC who underwent ICI therapy between 2016 and 2022. The third lumbar vertebrae skeletal muscle cross-sectional area and the mean skeletal muscle density were assessed using 3D Slicer. We then analyzed the relationships of sarcopenia and myosteatosis with the prognosis of the patients.

Research results

Patients exhibiting sarcopenia and/or myosteatosis demonstrated poorer clinical outcomes, and nomograms formulated on the basis of these conditions had substantial prognostic value.

Research conclusions

The presence of sarcopenia and/or myosteatosis was validated for the prediction of the clinical outcomes of patients with GC undergoing ICI therapy.

Research perspectives

Screening for sarcopenia and myosteatosis should help identify patients with advanced GC who would benefit from treatment with ICIs.