Impact of Sarcopenia on Patients with Localized Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Receiving FOLFIRINOX or Gemcitabine as Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Simple Summary Pancreas cancer will become the second deadliest cancer in 2030. One-third of patients with pancreatic cancer are treated with surgery followed by intravenous chemotherapy. This aggressive treatment has to be delivered to people fit enough to receive it. Many variables are used to define this status, such as performance status, albuminemia or sarcopenia. In our study, we calculated the sarcopenia status by measuring via computer tomography the area of the psoas; if it is low in terms of sex and BMI, the patient is considered sarcopenic. We found out that sarcopenic patients with operated pancreatic cancer have a lower overall survival no matter the type of chemotherapy used. Background: Despite its toxicity, modified FOLFIRINOX is the main chemotherapy for localized, operable pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Sarcopenia is known as a factor in lower overall survival (OS). The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of sarcopenia on OS in patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) who received modified FOLFIRINOX or gemcitabine as adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: Patients with operated PDAC who received gemcitabine-based (GEM group) or oxaliplatin-based (OXA group) adjuvant chemotherapy between 2008 and 2021 were retrospectively included. Sarcopenia was estimated on a baseline computed tomography (CT) examination using the skeletal muscular index (SMI). The primary evaluation criterion was OS. Secondary evaluation criteria were disease-free survival (DFS) and toxicity. Results: Seventy patients treated with gemcitabine-based (n = 49) and oxaliplatin-based (n = 21) chemotherapy were included, with a total of fifteen sarcopenic patients (eight in the GEM group and seven in the OXA group). The median OS was shorter in sarcopenic patients (25 months) compared to non-sarcopenic patients (158 months) (p = 0.01). A longer OS was observed in GEM non-sarcopenic patients (158 months) compared to OXA sarcopenic patients (14.4 months) (p < 0.01). The median OS was 157.7 months in the GEM group vs. 34.1 months in the OXA group (p = 0.13). No differences in median DFS were found between the GEM group and OXA group. More toxicity events were observed in the OXA group (50%) than in the GEM group (10%), including vomiting (p = 0.02), mucositis (p = 0.01) and neuropathy (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Sarcopenia is associated with a worse prognosis in patients with localized operated PDAC whatever the delivered adjuvant chemotherapy.

Automated summary

Pancreatic cancer is projected to be the second deadliest cancer by 2030. A third of patients with pancreatic cancer undergo surgery followed by intravenous chemotherapy. This study investigated the impact of sarcopenia, measured through computer tomography, on the overall survival of patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who received adjuvant chemotherapy. The results showed that sarcopenic patients had lower overall survival regardless of the type of chemotherapy used.