To investigate whether sarcopenia or severe sarcopenia predict the prognosis of patients with lymphoma.
Patients admitted to the initial chemotherapy for lymphoma participated in this study. SMM was assessed using a bioelectric impedance analysis with Inbody 770 (InBody Co., LTD., Seoul, Korea). Handgrip strength and Short Physical Performance Battery were assessed as muscle strength and physical performance, respectively. Participants were classified into non-sarcopenia, sarcopenia, or severe sarcopenia according to the criteria of AWGS 2019. The primary outcome of the study was event-free survival (EFS) at 180 days, defined as the time from treatment initiation to treatment discontinuation or delays for adverse events, disease progression, or death. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated, and survival was compared between these groups using the log-rank test. All statistical analyses were performed using R version 4.4.1.
In all, 77 patients were eligible. The median age was 72 years (range: 50 – 87 years), 33 (42.8%) were males, and 6 (7.8%) were Hodgkin lymphoma. 15 (19.5%) and 8 (10.4%) were sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia at initiation of chemotherapy. The overall median follow-up duration was 374 days (range: 133 - 654 days). 38 patients experienced treatment discontinuation or delays, 8 had disease progression, and 2 died. The 180-day EFS rates were 42.7% in non-sarcopenia, 46.7% in sarcopenia, and 12.5% in severe sarcopenia (p=0.058).
Patients with severe sarcopenia at the initiation of chemotherapy tend to have lower EFS compared to those with non-sarcopenia or sarcopenia.
Severe sarcopenia may serve as a prognostic indicator in patients with lymphoma. Interventions targeting improvements in skeletal muscle mass, muscle strength, or physical function—such as exercise therapy and nutritional interventions before chemotherapy— could potentially enhance patient prognosis.
AWGS 2019
lymphoma
