Can sarcopenia predict survival in locally advanced rectal cancer patients?

Background: There is mounting evidence that suggests sarcopenia can be used to predict survival outcomes in patients with colon cancer. However, the effect on locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is less clear. We sought to determine the association between sarcopenia on Overall Survival and Recurrence-free Survival (OS and RFS) in patients with LARC undergoing multimodal treatment.

Methods: A retrospective study was undertaken of all pre-treatment stage 2-3 rectal cancer patients who underwent neo-adjuvant treatment and surgery with curative intent between January 2010 and September 2016 at Western Health. Sarcopenia was measured on pre-treatment staging scans at the third lumbar vertebrae and defined using cohort-derived, sex-specific thresholds. Primary outcomes were OS and RFS.

Results: A total of 132 patients with LARC were analysed. Sarcopenia: Hazard ratio (HR) 3.71; 95% CI, 1.28-10.75, P = 0.016 was independently associated with worse Overall Survival following multivariate analysis. There was no significant relationship between sarcopenia and RFS: Time ratio (TR) 1.67; 95% CI 0.52-5.34, P = 0.386.

Conclusion: Sarcopenia was found to be an independent risk factor for worse overall survival, but not recurrence free survival, in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer undergoing neo-adjuvant chemo-radiotherapy and surgery with curative intent.