ArticleSurgery today2025
Preoperative skeletal muscle density measured as an assessment of sarcopenia is correlated with postoperative complications in patients undergoing highly invasive surgery for upper abdominal cancer.
Article in Surgery today, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- CT-derived myosteatosis as a predictor of postoperative outcomes in esophagogastric cancer surgery: a systematic review.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical significance and predictive factors of delayed gastric conduit emptying after esophagectomy.Surgery today · 2026Article
- Timing is of the Essence: Why Muscle Mass Trajectories Matter in Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Combined Impact of Sarcopenia and Low Visceral Adiposity on Postoperative Outcomes and Survival After Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer.Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
purposeSarcopenia is characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical ability and is a well-established predictor of postoperative complications. However, the optimal method for preoperative assessment remains controversial. This study evaluated preoperative skeletal muscle density using computed tomography as a surrogate marker for sarcopenia to predict postoperative complications in patients undergoing highly invasive surgery for upper abdominal cancer.
methodsWe examined 46 cases (esophagectomy, n = 33; pancreaticoduodenectomy, n = 13). We examined the relationship between clinical parameters and indicators of physical performance (peak load, six-minute walking test) and analyzed the impact of preoperative skeletal muscle density on postoperative complications.
resultsMuscle density was significantly associated with physical performance in both parameters (peak load, p = 0.0007; six-minute walking test, p = 0.0001). The optimal cutoff value of muscle density for physical performance was 31.4 HU, with a sensitivity of 83.3% and specificity of 80% (area under curve = 0.833). In the multivariate analysis, the presence of low muscle density was a significant risk factor for postoperative complications (p = 0.0225).
conclusionThe preoperative skeletal muscle density may serve as a simple and objective surrogate marker for sarcopenia. It might be a useful predictor of postoperative complications after highly invasive surgery for upper abdominal cancer.
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