Yaguchi Y, et al. - This study assessed the change of the area of the psoas major muscle (PMMA) in a computed tomography (CT) which was performed routinely after gastrectomy in gastric cancer. Findings indicated that diagnosis of the progression of cancer state in gastric cancer patients could be done by taking assistance from CT- assessed change in PMMA after gastrectomy.

Methods

• This study included a total of 119 gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy.
• Researchers obtained a CT image at the top of the iliac crest level at the following times: 3 postoperative months (POM), 6 POM, 1 postoperative year (POY), 2 POY, 3 POY, and 5 POY.
• They analyzed the change rate of PMMA after gastrectomy and before or after recurrence.

Results

• Findings demonstrated that PMMA change after gastrectomy was approximately between -8 and -10% over the 5-year observation period.
• Researchers observed that PMMA in the R2 (macroscopic residual tumor)/recurrence group was lower than that in the no recurrence group, and a significant difference at 2 POY (-21.7 ± 3.6% vs. -7.9 ± 2.3%, p < 0.01).
• They also noted that PMMA after freshly diagnosed recurrence had decreased significantly by 14.1 ± 1.8% (p < 0.01).