Skeletal muscle mass is associated with toxicity, treatment tolerability, and additional or subsequent therapies in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving sorafenib treatment.

Background And Aim: Several reports have demonstrated that skeletal muscle mass influences mortality in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) receiving sorafenib treatment; however, there is still controversy with regard to whether skeletal muscle and adipose tissue are associated with the prognosis in HCC patients. We examined the relationship between body composition and prognosis in HCC patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 82 patients with unresectable HCC receiving sorafenib treatment. The skeletal muscle area and adipose tissue area were measured by computed tomography. Patients with low skeletal muscle index (male ≤36.2 cm/m, female ≤29.6 cm/m) and high visceral to subcutaneous adipose tissue area ratio (VSR) (male ≥ 1.33, female ≥ 0.93) were diagnosed as low skeletal muscle mass (LSMM) and high VSR, respectively.

Results: A total of 16 and 34 patients were classified as LSMM and high VSR, respectively. LSMM patients frequently experienced serious adverse events (SAEs) and thus had a shorter duration of sorafenib treatment than non-LSMM patients. High VSR was a significant factor for progression-free survival. LSMM patients less frequently received additional/subsequent therapies combined with sorafenib than non-LSMM patients. Multivariate Cox hazard analysis demonstrated that LSMM was a significant factor for the duration of sorafenib treatment. The treatment duration and receiving of additional/subsequent therapies were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) but not with LSMM or high VSR.

Conclusion: LSMM was associated with the frequency of SAEs, treatment tolerability, and treatment duration. LSMM patients were less likely to receive additional/subsequent therapies than non-LSMM patients. Thus, LSMM could identify a subgroup of patients with poor OS.