Are CT-Derived Muscle Measurements Prognostic, Independent of Systemic Inflammation, in Good Performance Status Patients with Advanced Cancer?

The present study examined the relationships between CT-derived muscle measurements, systemic inflammation, and survival in advanced cancer patients with good performance status (ECOG-PS 0/1). Data was collected prospectively from patients with advanced cancer undergoing anti-cancer therapy with palliative intent. The CT Sarcopenia score (CT-SS) was calculated by combining the CT-derived skeletal muscle index (SMI) and density (SMD). The systemic inflammatory status was determined using the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS). The primary outcome of interest was overall survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regressions were used for survival analysis. Three hundred and seven patients met the inclusion criteria, out of which 62% (n = 109) were male and 47% (n = 144) were ≥65 years of age, while 38% (n = 118) were CT-SS ≥ 1 and 47% (n = 112) of patients with pre-study blood were inflamed (mGPS ≥ 1). The median survival from entry to the study was 11.1 months (1-68.1). On univariate analysis, cancer type ( p < 0.05) and mGPS ( p < 0.001) were significantly associated with OS. On multivariate analysis, only mGPS ( p < 0.001) remained significantly associated with OS. In patients who were ECOG-PS 0, mGPS was significantly associated with CT-SS ( p < 0.05). mGPS may dominate the prognostic value of CT-derived sarcopenia in good-performance-status patients with advanced cancer.