ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2026
Impact of Muscle Mass Loss on Survival During Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Multi-center Retrospective Study in China (TIMES Study).
Article in Annals of surgical oncology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe prognostic impact of excessive muscle loss (EML) during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (LA-ESCC) remains unclear.
methodsThis multicenter retrospective study analyzed consecutive patients with LA-ESCC undergoing NCRT followed by esophagectomy (2014-2023). Skeletal muscle index was measured longitudinally on computed tomography at the L3 vertebra at three time points: pre-NCRT (T1), post-NCRT (T2), and pre-surgery (T3). EML was evaluated across two intervals: stage A (T1 to T2) and stage B (T2 to T3). Survival outcomes were evaluated using Cox proportional hazards and Kaplan-Meier analyses, with a two-sided P < 0.05 threshold for significance.
resultsAmong 421 eligible patients (median follow-up 39.1 months), the 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 60.0% and 53.9%, respectively. EML incidence was 26.6% in stage A and 37.1% in stage B. Multivariate analysis confirmed EML in both stages as independent predictors of poorer OS (stage A: hazard ratio [HR] 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18-2.69; P = 0.006; stage B: HR 1.83; 95% CI 1.23-2.72; P = 0.003). Stage B EML was also independently associated with worse PFS (HR 1.75; 95% CI 1.24-2.46; P = 0.001). Among patients without stage A EML, stable muscle mass in stage B predicted improved OS (HR 0.49; 95% CI 0.38-0.81; P = 0.005). No such survival benefit was observed if EML had already occurred in stage A (P > 0.05).
conclusionsEML during either NCRT or the subsequent preoperative period independently predicts worse survival in LA-ESCC. Nutritional intervention post-NCRT may improve outcomes, particularly for patients who maintain muscle mass during initial therapy.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42159878What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.