Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37708441›Full record

ArticleHepatology communications2023

Transversal psoas muscle thickness measurement is associated with response and survival in patients with HCC undergoing immunotherapy.

Bernhard Scheiner, Katharina Lampichler, Katharina Pomej, Lucian Beer, Lorenz Balcar, Riccardo Sartoris, Mohamed Bouattour, Sabrina Sidali, Michael Trauner, Mattias Mandorfer and 6 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Hepatology communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 23% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Sarcopenia's increasingly vital role in liver cancer.Hepatobiliary surgery and nutrition · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
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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

16 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Bernhard ScheinerDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-4904-5133
Katharina LampichlerDepartment of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-9719-4694
Katharina PomejDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-2807-3565
Lucian BeerDepartment of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-4388-7580
Lorenz BalcarDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-6708-3061
Riccardo SartorisDepartment of Radiology, Beaujon Hospital, APHP.Nord, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.
Mohamed BouattourDepartment of Digestive Oncology, APHP.Nord, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.ORCID 0000-0002-3919-4135
Sabrina SidaliDepartment of Digestive Oncology, APHP.Nord, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.
Michael TraunerDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-1275-6425
Mattias MandorferDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-2330-0017
Thomas ReibergerDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID 0000-0002-4590-3583
Martina ScharitzerDepartment of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Dietmar TamandlDepartment of Biomedical Imaging and Image-Guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
David J PinatoDepartment of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Maxime RonotDepartment of Radiology, Beaujon Hospital, APHP.Nord, Hôpital Beaujon, Clichy, France.
Matthias PinterDepartment of Internal Medicine III, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Medical University of Vienna · ATHôpital Beaujon · FRImperial College London · GBInserm · FRUniversità degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSarcopenia is a common problem in patients with HCC. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of baseline transversal psoas muscle thickness (TPMT) measurement in patients with HCC undergoing immunotherapy.

methodsHCC patients treated with programmed death ligand 1-based therapies between June 2016 and October 2022 at the Vienna General Hospital (n = 80) and the Hôpital Beaujon Clichy (n = 96) were included and followed until April 2023. TPMT at the level of the third lumbar vertebra was measured independently by 2 radiologists to evaluate interreader reliability. TPMT <12 mm/m in men and <8 mm/m in women indicated sarcopenia.

resultsOverall, 176 patients (age: 66.3±11.7 y; male: n=143, 81%, Barcelona-Clinic Liver Cancer C: n=121, 69%) were included, of which 131 (74%) exhibited cirrhosis. Interreader agreement for the diagnosis of sarcopenia based on TPMT was 92.6%, and Cohen κ showed a "strong agreement" [κ = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.75-0.92)]. Sarcopenia, present in 58 patients (33%), was associated with shorter median overall survival [7.2 (95% CI: 5.0-9.5) vs. 22.6 (95% CI: 16.4-28.8 months); p < 0.001] and median progression-free survival [3.4 (95% CI: 0.2-6.8) vs. 7.9 (95% CI: 5.8-9.9 months), p = 0.001], and an independent predictor of overall [adjusted HR: 1.63 (95% CI: 1.07-2.48)] and progression-free mortality [adjusted HR: 1.54 (95% CI: 1.06-2.23)] in multivariable analyses. The objective response rate [evaluable in 162 subjects (92.0%)] per modified Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors (mRECIST) in patients with and without sarcopenia was 22% and 39%, respectively (p = 0.029). Survival and radiological responses were worse in patients with sarcopenia and systemic inflammation [median overall survival: 6.1 (95% CI: 3.6-8.6) mo; median progression-free survival: 2.8 (95% CI: 2.1-3.4) mo; objective response rate=16%; disease control rate=39%].

conclusionsEvaluation of sarcopenia using TPMT measurement is reliable and identifies HCC patients with a dismal prognosis and response to immunotherapy.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsSarcopeniaAgedFemaleHumansImmunotherapyMaleMiddle AgedPsoas MusclesReproducibility of Results

Identifiers

PMID37708441
PMCPMC10503692
OpenAlexW4386728918

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.