Low truncal muscle area on chest computed tomography: a poor prognostic factor for the cure of early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Depletion in skeletal muscle is closely associated with limited physical ability and high mortality. In this study, we evaluated the prognostic significance of skeletal muscle depletion in patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patients with pathological stages I-II lung cancer, who underwent curative resection between 2009 and 2013, was conducted. The truncal muscle index (TMI) (area/height2) at the first lumbar vertebral level was measured by preoperative axial computed tomography. Overall survival and recurrence-free survival were compared between the lowest gender-specific quartile of the TMI and the other quartiles.

RESULTS: A total of 314 subjects were included in the study. The cumulative 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates were significantly shorter in patients with lower TMIs (69% vs 83.5%, P = 0.028; 64.8% vs 80.1%, P = 0.003, respectively). In multivariable models, the TMI was identified as an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P =  0.017, hazard ratio 1.84, 95% confidence interval 1.12-3.05), after adjusting for age, gender, preoperative serum albumin, carcinoembryonic antigen, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio and pathological stage.

CONCLUSIONS: A low preoperative TMI was associated with a poor postoperative outcome in patients with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer. This factor may be included in the preoperative assessment of patients, for whom surgical intervention is considered.