Disclosures: Abhishek Swarup, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: Sarcopenia as measured by cross-sectional area of the iliopsoas has been associated with adverse outcomes for lung cancer. We investigated if routine measurements of the pectoralis as part of work-up and surveillance demonstrated any changes in muscle mass over the treatment period.

Design: Retrospective Study Setting : Pre and Postoperative Chest Imaging in Lung Cancer Patients Participants : 44 patients who underwent curative surgical resection for lung cancer in a 1-year period

Interventions: Serial cross-sectional area measurement of the pectoralis and iliopsoas muscle on CT scan

Main Outcome Measures: Cross-sectional area of the pectoralis muscle at 6 and 12 months after surgical resection

Results: CT scans were available for analysis in 33 patients. The mean age was 66 years old and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 28.62 kg/m2. 20 patients (60.6%) were female. 25 patients (75.8%) had pathological stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer, and 32 out of 33 patients underwent lobectomies. 22 patients (66.7%) were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status grade 0 at diagnosis. The mean iliopsoas area at diagnosis was 7.5 cm2. The mean pectoralis area at diagnosis was 13.8cm2, and 13.3 cm2 at 6 months post surgical resection. Area decreased to 12.4 cm2 at 12 months post resection. The decrease was statistically significant at 12 months. (p < 0.01) The number (percentage) of patients who exhibited decreases in mean pectoralis area was 22 patients (66.7 %) and 21 patients (63.6 %) at 6 and 12 months post resection, respectively. At 6 months, BMI, ECOG, and gender correlated with postoperative decrease, although these factors did not reach statistical significance (p < 0.1). Conclusions: Over half of the subjects lost pectoralis muscle mass in the first year. Assessment of sarcopenia provides crucial information when designing an exercise program for cancer patients.

Level of Evidence: Level III

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/sarcopenia-in-lung-cancer-value-of-pectoralis-muscle-measurement/