The prognostic utility of temporalis muscle thickness measured on magnetic resonance scans in patients with intra-axial malignant brain tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Sarcopenia is associated with worsened outcomes in solid cancers. Temporalis muscle thickness (TMT) has emerged as a measure of sarcopenia. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the relationship between TMT and outcome measures in patients with malignant intra-axial neoplasms.

Method: We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane databases for relevant studies. Event ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were analysed using the RevMan 5.4 software. Where meta-analysis was impossible, vote counting was used to determine the effect of TMT on outcomes. The GRADE framework was used to determine the certainty of the evidence.

Results: Four outcomes were reported for three conditions across 17 studies involving 4430 patients. Glioblastoma: thicker TMT was protective for overall survival (OS) (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.46-0.76) (GRADE low), progression free survival (PFS) (HR 0.40; 95% CI 0.26-0.62) (GRADE high), and early discontinuation of treatment (OR 0.408; 95% CI 0.168-0.989) (GRADE high); no association with complications (HR 0.82; 95% CI 0.60-1.10) (GRADE low). Brain Metastases: thicker TMT was protective for OS (HR 0.73; 95% CI 0.67-0.78) (GRADE moderate); no association with PFS (GRADE low). Primary CNS Lymphoma: TMT was protective for overall survival (HR 0.34; 95% CI 0.19-0.60) (GRADE moderate) and progression free survival (HR 0.23; 95% CI 0.09-0.56) (GRADE high).

Conclusion: TMT has significant prognostic potential in intra-axial malignant neoplasms, showing a moderate to high certainty for its association with outcomes following GRADE evaluation. This will enable shared decision making between patients and clinicians.