Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36647027›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2023

Comparison of CT derived body composition at the thoracic T4 and T12 with lumbar L3 vertebral levels and their utility in patients with rectal cancer.

Aisha A Arayne, Richard Gartrell, Jing Qiao, Paul N Baird, Justin Mc Yeung

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC cancer, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 4% 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

25 citing papers in PubMed, 28 citations in OpenAlex.

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  14. The Influence of Muscle Morphology on Oncological Outcomes: A Review.Journal of frailty, sarcopenia and falls · 2025
    Review
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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

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Aisha A ArayneDepartment of Surgery, Western Health, Footscray, VIC, Australia.
Richard GartrellDepartment of Surgery, Western Health, Footscray, VIC, Australia.
Jing QiaoDepartment of Surgery, Western Health, Footscray, VIC, Australia.
Paul N BairdDepartment of Surgery, Western Precinct, University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Justin Mc YeungDepartment of Surgery, Western Precinct, University of Melbourne, VIC, Australia. justin.yeung@unimelb.edu.au.
University of Melbourne · AUFootscray Hospital · AUWestern Health · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundComputed tomography (CT) derived body composition measurements of sarcopenia are an emerging form of prognostication in many disease processes. Although the L3 vertebral level is commonly used to measure skeletal muscle mass, other studies have suggested the utilisation of other segments. This study was performed to assess the variation and reproducibility of skeletal muscle mass at vertebral levels T4, T12 and L3 in pre-operative rectal cancer patients. If thoracic measurements were equivalent to those at L3, it will allow for body composition comparisons in a larger range of cancers where lumbar CT images are not routinely measured. RESEARCH

methodsPatients with stage I - III rectal cancer, undergoing curative resection from 2010 - 2014, were assessed. CT based quantification of skeletal muscle was used to determine skeletal muscle cross sectional area (CSA) and skeletal muscle index (SMI). Systematic differences between the measurements at L3 with T4 and T12 vertebral levels were evaluated by percentile rank differences to assess distribution of differences and ordinary least product regression (OLP) to detect and distinguish fixed and proportional bias.

resultsEighty eligible adult patients were included. Distribution of differences between T12 SMI and L3 SMI were more marked than differences between T4 SMI and L3 SMI. There was no fix or proportional bias with T4 SMI, but proportional bias was detected with T12 SMI measurements. T4 CSA duplicate measurements had higher test-retest reliability: coefficient of repeatability was 34.10 cm

conclusionsQuantifying skeletal muscle mass at the T4 vertebral level is comparable to measures achieved at L3 in patients with rectal cancer, notwithstanding annotation time for T4 measurements are longer.

Indexed as

Rectal NeoplasmsSarcopeniaAdultBody CompositionHumansMaleMuscle, SkeletalReproducibility of ResultsRetrospective StudiesTomography, X-Ray ComputedComputed tomographyL3SarcopeniaSkeletal muscle massT12T4

Identifiers

PMID36647027
PMCPMC9843961
OpenAlexW4316511373

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.