Sarcopenia, initially a condition that received relatively little attention when clinically defined, has become increasingly studied in recent years. Numerous studies have investigated its prognostic significance, particularly in pancreatic, hepatic, gastrointestinal, and urothelial cancers, but relatively fewer studies have focused on epithelial ovarian cancers[13–15].
In the study by Rutten et al. sarcopenic patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer were reported to have significantly lower overall survival rates compared to non-sarcopenic patients. However, sarcopenia was not found to be decisive in overall survival and major complications in multivariate analysis[2].Conversely, in the study by Kumar et al. no differences were observed in overall survival and disease-free survival between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic groups of patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer[18].In our study, no significant difference in overall survival was observed between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic groups. Similarly, Conrad et al. found no significant impact of sarcopenia on early postoperative morbidity in patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer, but combined sarcopenia with hypoalbuminemia negatively affected overall survival[19].However, in our study, no significant relationship was found between albumin levels and overall survival or postoperative early complications.
In contrast to these studies, Bronger et al. reported significantly lower overall survival and disease-free survival rates in sarcopenic patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer[20].Baseline sarcopenia was identified as a prognostic factor in advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Similarly, Huang et al. reported the effectiveness of sarcopenia in 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates in patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer[21].
In the study by Ataseven et al. patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer were classified based on quantitative SMI measurements using three different cut-off values. No association with overall survival was observed for any of the three cut-off values. However, qualitative assessment of sarcopenia based on muscle density measurement (Hounsfield Unit, HU) showed a significant association between low values and poor prognosis[22].Silva de Paula et al. identified sarcopenic patients using quantitative SMI measurements and further categorized them qualitatively based on muscle density into High-Radiodensity and Low-Radiodensity SMI groups. Qualitative skeletal muscle status was reported as the most significant predictive factor for surgical complications. High-Radiodensity SMI was found to be an independent determinant of early surgical complications and associated with early mortality[7].
In the study by Kim et al. patients with advanced-stage ovarian cancer were grouped based on quantitative SMI measurements. No difference was found in overall survival and progression-free survival rates. Additionally, when patients were subgrouped based on Fat-to-Muscle Ratio (FMR), high FMR in sarcopenic patients was found to be unfavorable for overall survival, but no difference was observed in disease-free survival[23].A meta-analysis conducted in 2020, which included most of these studies, found no significant relationship between the increase in treatment complications and sarcopenia based on data from five studies, but indicated an increased risk associated with sarcopenia. However, among the data from ten studies, a relationship was found between low overall survival and progression-free survival rates and sarcopenia, although the heterogeneity of data in these study groups was noted to be high [24].
In our study, patients were classified as sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic based on quantitative measurements. No differences were found in the characteristics of patients between the two groups. No statistically significant difference was observed in overall survival between sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic groups of patients who underwent PCS. However, major complications (Clavien-Dindo 3 and above) in the early postoperative period (first 30 days) were significantly more common in the sarcopenic group. Additionally, high PCI score and FIGO 3C stage were associated with more early complications compared to low PCI score and FIGO 3A-3B stage. The higher incidence of major complications in patients with high PCI score and FIGO 3C stage is thought to be due to the higher rates of procedures such as diaphragmatic peritonectomy, diaphragm resection, splenectomy, extensive bowel resection, and liver resection. High PCI score and SMI < 38.5 were identified as risk factors for early postoperative complications in both univariate and multivariate analyses. However, no significant difference was found in overall survival.
Furthermore, when examining the factors affecting overall survival, the development of early major complications in the postoperative period was identified as a risk factor in both univariate and multivariate models. The mortality risk for patients with Clavien-Dindo 3 and above was found to be 2.791 times higher compared to those with 2 or below in the univariate model after excluding four patients who had died (Clavien-Dindo 5) in the early postoperative period. In the multivariate model, the mortality risk for patients with Clavien-Dindo 3 and above was 4.748 times higher compared to those with two or below. Delay or absence of adjuvant treatment in patients with major complications developing early postoperatively is considered to be the cause of this.
Our study has some limitations, such as being a retrospective review and having a small number of scanned patients. However, the patient group studied is quite homogeneous, and patients who underwent surgery at a single center were included in the study.