Impact of Sarcopenia on Postoperative Complications in Obstructive Colorectal Cancer Patients Who Received Stenting as a Bridge to Curative Surgery

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the relationship between sarcopenia and malignancy is increasingly important since they inevitably affect the aging population. We investigated the clinical significance of sarcopenia in nonmetastatic obstructive colorectal cancer (OCRC) patients who were inserted self-expandable metallic stent and underwent curative surgery. METHODS: Plain cross-sectional CT images obtained before stenting were retrospectively analyzed in 92 patients. Muscle volume loss (myopenia) and decreased muscle quality (myosteatosis) were evaluated as skeletal muscle index (SMI) and intramuscular adipose tissue content (IMAC), respectively. RESULTS: = 0.027) were independent predictors of infectious complications. Relapse-free survival and overall survival were not significantly different regardless of the SMI or IMAC status. CONCLUSIONS: IMAC was associated with postoperative complications and infectious complications. Myosteatosis might be a stronger predictor of postoperative complications than myopenia.