Impact of sarcopenia on surgical and oncologic outcomes of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer

Background: The study aimed to evaluate the impact of sarcopenia on short- and long-term outcomes for laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery. Methods: Study participants were 209 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for any stage of colorectal cancer between 2016 and 2017. Skeletal muscle indices were calculated with preoperative computed tomography. Patients were divided into sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic groups based on index cut-off values and variables were compared. Results: The prevalence of sarcopenia was 41.1%. Sarcopenic patients experienced shorter operative times and a lower incidence of surgical site infections; however, the incidence of severe postoperative complications and readmission were increased for this group. Although the 3-year disease-free survival rate was not statistically different between groups, sarcopenic patients had a significantly worse 3-year overall survival rate compared with than the non-sarcopenic group. Conclusion: Sarcopenia has both favorable and unfavorable effects on patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery. (c) 2022 Asian Surgical Association and Taiwan Robotic Surgery Association. Publishing services by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study evaluated the impact of sarcopenia on short- and long-term outcomes for laparoscopic colorectal cancer surgery. The results showed that sarcopenic patients may have shorter operative times and a lower incidence of surgical site infections, but they also have an increased risk of severe postoperative complications and readmission. Additionally, sarcopenic patients have a significantly worse 3-year overall survival rate compared to non-sarcopenic patients.