Cachexia confounds the association between skeletal muscle mass and overall survival in gastric cancer

Key clinical point: Computed tomography-determined low skeletal muscle mass (SMM) predicts worse overall survival (OS) in patients with gastric cancer and associated cachexia but not in those without cachexia.

Major finding: Patients with a low vs normal SMM had a significantly worse OS (P  =  .007). A low SMM significantly predicted worse OS in patients with cachexia (P  =  .009) but not in those without cachexia (P  =  .31).

Study details: This retrospective study included 255 adult patients with gastric cancer, of which 117 had low SMM including 49 patients with cachexia.

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Disclosures: This study received no specific funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Wan Q et al. CT-determined low skeletal muscle mass predicts worse overall survival of gastric cancer in patients with cachexia. Cancer Med. 2022 (Jul 18). Doi: 10.1002/cam4.5040