Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30041616›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2018

Rapidly declining skeletal muscle mass predicts poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma treated with transcatheter intra-arterial therapies.

Takamasa Kobayashi, Hirokazu Kawai, Oki Nakano, Satoshi Abe, Hiroteru Kamimura, Akira Sakamaki, Kenya Kamimura, Atsunori Tsuchiya, Masaaki Takamura, Satoshi Yamagiwa and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC cancer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
41citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
3.4field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

41 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. Albumin-bilirubin grade and sarcopenia as predictors of prognosis in patients with unresectable intermediate and advanced-stage hepatocellular carcinoma.Indian journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Takamasa KobayashiDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Hirokazu KawaiDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan. kawaih@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.
Oki NakanoDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Satoshi AbeDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Hiroteru KamimuraDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Akira SakamakiDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Kenya KamimuraDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Atsunori TsuchiyaDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Masaaki TakamuraDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Satoshi YamagiwaDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Shuji TeraiDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 1-757 Asahimachi-dori Chuo-ku, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.
Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who receive transcatheter intra-arterial therapies, including transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy, remains unclear. We investigated the prognostic value of skeletal muscle loss (SML) stratified by cutoffs for sarcopenia and rate of change in skeletal muscle mass over 6 months.

methodsWe retrospectively evaluated 102 patients with HCC treated with transcatheter intra-arterial therapies between 2005 and 2015. Computed tomography images of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) were analyzed to obtain the skeletal muscle area normalized for the height squared, defined as the skeletal muscle index at L3 (L3 SMI), before and 6 months after treatment. Low or high SMI was defined using cutoff values of 42 cm

resultsOS did not differ significantly between groups with low (n = 31) and high (n = 71) SMI at baseline (P = 0.172), but OS was significantly poorer in patients with SML (n = 41), defined as ΔL3 SMI < - 4.6% over 6 months than in those without SML (n = 61, P = 0.018). On multivariate analysis, SML (hazard ratio [HR], 1.675; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.031-2.721; P = 0.037), serum alpha-fetoprotein ≥20 ng/mL (HR, 2.550; 95% CI, 1.440-4.515; P = 0.001), and maximum tumor diameter ≥ 30 mm (HR, 1.925; 95% CI, 1.166-3.179; P = 0.010) were independent predictors of poor OS. Baseline L3 SMI was not significantly associated with OS (HR, 1.405; 95% CI, 0.861-2.293; P = 0.174).

conclusionsΔL3 SMI was an independent prognostic factor in patients with HCC treated with transcatheter intra-arterial therapies. Further study is required to reveal whether prevention of skeletal muscle depletion might be a new therapeutic strategy to contribute to improved clinical outcomes in patients with HCC.

Indexed as

Chemoembolization, TherapeuticInfusions, Intra-ArterialAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCarcinoma, HepatocellularFemaleHumansLiver NeoplasmsMaleMiddle AgedMuscle, SkeletalPrognosisProportional Hazards ModelsRetrospective StudiesSarcopeniaHepatocellular carcinomaPrognosisSarcopeniaSkeletal muscle lossTranscatheter arterial chemoembolizationTranscatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy

Identifiers

PMID30041616
PMCPMC6056944
OpenAlexW2883862567

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.