Postoperative skeletal muscle loss as a prognostic indicator of clinical outcomes in patients with gastric cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

A decrease in skeletal muscle mass is frequently observed during the perioperative period in patients with gastric cancer (GC) and is strongly associated with postoperative complications and poor long-term survival outcomes. Relevant research indicates that a certain proportion of patients with GC experience skeletal muscle mass loss after surgery. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess postoperative skeletal muscle loss as a prognostic marker for clinical outcomes in patients with GC.

METHODS

PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase were used to systematically screen and retrieve relevant studies according to strictly established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Further analysis of the effect of postoperative skeletal muscle loss on long-term survival metrics (including overall survival [OS], recurrence-free survival [RFS], disease-free survival [DFS], and disease-specific survival [DSS]) in patients with GC was performed.

RESULTS': From 10 studies and 11 related publications, more than 3764 patients with GC were identified. Severe postoperative skeletal muscle loss occurred in 25.7% of patients with GC and was significantly correlated with poorer OS (hazard ratio [HR], 2.27; 95% CI, 1.58-3.25; P <.00001), RFS (HR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.47-5.97; P =.002), DFS (HR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.17-4.97; P =.02), and DSS (HR, 4.12; 95% CI, 2.44-6.94; P <.00001). When postoperative skeletal muscle loss advanced to sarcopenia, patients had worse OS as well (HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.49-3.30; P <.0001).

CONCLUSION

Patients who undergo radical surgery for GC often experience skeletal muscle mass loss, and significant skeletal muscle mass loss is associated with poorer survival outcomes. Identifying patients with significant skeletal muscle mass loss during follow-up and promptly providing tailored interventions, such as nutritional and exercise support, are essential.