Abstract 5822
Background
We aimed to evaluate the effect of sarcopenia on tolerability of chemotherapy during systemic treatment of pts with gastrointestinal system cancer (GISC).
Methods
Patients with GISC who had not previously received chemotherapy or radiotherapy were included. All of the pts muscle mass was evaluated by bioimpedance prior to the first cycle of chemotherapy, and pts who had normal muscle mass according to first bioimpedance evaluation were re-evaluated after 2-3 cycles of chemotherapy. The acute toxicities were compared in sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic pts. To define the sarcopenia results of a Turkish validation study was used (sarcopenia for male <9.2 kg/m2, female: 7.4 kg/m2).
Results
A total 116 pts who had nosarcopenia in the first evaluation were included in the study population. Median age was 57 (min:26-max:76) and 2/3 of them were male (67.6%). Primary tumor locations were colorectal (51.8%), gastric (44.1%), esophagus (4.1%). Chemotherapy was given as adjuvant (46.9%), neoadjuvant (22.1%) and palliative (31%). In the second bioimpedance evaluation sarcopenia was detected in 36 (31%) pts. Basal body-mass index (BMI) evaluation of pts showed that rate of obese and overweight pts was significantly lower in sarcopenic pts compared to non-sarcopenic pts (44.4% vs 68.8%, p < 0.05). At the time of thesecond bioimpedance measurement, there was no significant difference between BMI of sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic pts. The rate of chemotherapy toxicities of the sarcopenic and non-sarcopenic group is shown in the table:Table: 1733P
| Toxicity | Sarcopenic (n = 36) % | Non-sarcopenic (n = 80) % | p |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thrombocytopenia Yes, No | 33.3, 66.7 | 58.8, 41.3 | 0.011 |
| Neutropenia Yes, No | 55.6, 44.4 | 72.5, 27.5 | 0.073 |
| Anemia Yes, No | 63.9, 36.1 | 67.2, 32.9 | 0.73 |
| Delay of chemotherapy Yes, No | 27.8, 72.2 | 43.0, 57.0 | 0.11 |
| Dose reduction Yes, No | 28.4, 71.4 | 37.5, 62.5 | 0.35 |
Conclusions
In GISC pts non-sarcopenic at time of diagnosis, BMI remains unchanged after 2-3 cycles of chemotherapy. However, muscle loss had developed in 1/3 of them. Pts who developed sarcopenia had lower rates of chemotherapy-associated toxicity. The reasons for this difference should be further investigated. However, the different lipophilic and hydrophilic properties of chemotherapy agents might be one of possible explanation.
Clinical trial identification
Legal entity responsible for the study
Yildirim Beyazit University, Medical Oncology.
Funding
Has not received any funding.
Editorial Acknowledgement
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.