The impact of sarcopenia on postoperative complications and survival outcomes after robotic colorectal cancer surgery: a study based on single-center propensity score matching.

Sarcopenia is more common in elderly individuals and is often associated with functional limitations, which can affect postoperative clinical efficacy and mortality rates in cancer surgery. Yet, the precise effects of sarcopenia on individuals receiving robotic colorectal cancer surgery (RCRC) remain insufficiently explored. Our objective was to evaluate the value of preoperative skeletal muscle status on patients receiving RCRC about postoperative complications and long-term prognosis. Data were gathered retrospectively for patients with well-defined conditions. Clinical records of patients who underwent RCRC at a single center between January 2019 and September 2022 were analyzed. Sarcopenia was defined using preoperative computed tomography (CT) body composition analysis of the L3 vertebral level muscle index with cutoff values of < 29 cm/m for females and < 36 cm/m for males. In this retrospective study, 432 patients were sequentially sampled, and 127 pairs were formed through propensity score matching to contrast sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic patients. Relative to the non-sarcopenia group (NSCA), the sarcopenia group (SCA) showed increased rates of complications after matching (P = 0.045), especially in cases of wound and pulmonary infections (P = 0.0408). Compared to the NSCA group, the SCA group exhibited reduced rates of 3-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.048, 0.036). Additionally, the SCA group experienced extended hospitalizations (P = 0.04) and heightened inflammatory indices before and after surgery (P = 0.028, 0.049). Sarcopenia before surgery in RCRC patients correlates with heightened post-surgery complications and lower rates of short-term survival. Conducting sarcopenia screenings before surgery could assist in evaluating risks and developing post-surgery management approaches for these patients.