Wang DE, Qin XF, Yang W. Correlation between sarcopenia diagnosed by C3SMI criteria and prognosis in esophageal cancer patients after radiotherapy. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(9): 107626 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i9.107626]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Wei Yang, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 1 Huanghe West Road, Huaiyin District, Huai’an 223300, Jiangsu Province, China. yangwei110501@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Sep 15, 2025; 17(9): 107626 Published online Sep 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i9.107626
Correlation between sarcopenia diagnosed by C3SMI criteria and prognosis in esophageal cancer patients after radiotherapy
De-En Wang, Xiao-Fang Qin, Wei Yang
De-En Wang, Department of Geriatrics, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an 223300, Jiangsu Province, China
Xiao-Fang Qin, Wei Yang, Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai’an 223300, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Wang DE and Yang W designed the research study; Wang DE and Qin XF performed the research and collected the data; Wang DE and Yang W analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; All authors have read and approve the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (Approval Number: KY-2024-242-01).
Informed consent statement: The data used in this study did not involve identifiable patient information; thus, the requirement for informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board of The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. All patient data were obtained, recorded, and managed exclusively for this study, with strict confidentiality maintained, ensuring no harm to the patients.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Wei Yang, MM, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Ultrasound Medicine, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 1 Huanghe West Road, Huaiyin District, Huai’an 223300, Jiangsu Province, China. yangwei110501@163.com
Received: April 22, 2025 Revised: May 25, 2025 Accepted: July 30, 2025 Published online: September 15, 2025 Processing time: 145 Days and 17.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Esophageal cancer is a common malignancy with high mortality. Radiotherapy is an important treatment. Sarcopenia affects patients' physical function and prognosis. However, the relationship between sarcopenia diagnosed by Chun-Hou Chen method for sarcopenia measurement and index (C3SMI) criteria and esophageal cancer prognosis after radiotherapy is unclear.
AIM
To explore the correlation between sarcopenia (SA) diagnosed based on C3SMI criteria and the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer following radiotherapy.
METHODS
A retrospective analysis was conducted on the general clinical data of 131 esophageal cancer patients who received radiotherapy in the Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from March 2021 to July 2024. Based on the presence of SA, the patients were assigned into two groups - the SA group and the non-SA group. Logistic regression analysis was used for investigating the risk factors influencing SA in esophageal cancer patients. Additionally, the patients were followed up, with their prognosis recorded. As per their prognostic outcomes, the patients were allocated into a good prognosis group and a poor prognosis group. The data of the two groups were compared. Using logistic regression analysis, the risk factors that may influence the prognosis of these patients were analyzed. SPSS 26.0 statistical software was introduced for analyzing the study data. Comparisons were made between groups using t-tests or χ2 tests based on the data type.
RESULTS
As revealed through logistic regression analysis, age [odds ratio (OR) = 2.898, P = 0.038], body mass index (OR = 5.983, P = 0.006), prealbumin (OR = 6.253, P = 0.003), and Karnofsky performance status score (OR = 3.854, P = 0.010) were independent risk factors impacting SA for esophageal cancer patients (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis also found that age (OR = 3.823, P = 0.030), differentiation degree (OR = 4.802, P = 0.028), American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical staging (OR = 3.732, P = 0.013), alpha-fetoprotein level (OR = 3.508, P = 0.018), thrombospondin-1 level (OR = 5.749, P = 0.006), carcinoembryonic antigen level (OR = 3.873, P = 0.030), and SA (OR = 3.593, P = 0.017) were independent risk factors that may influence esophageal cancer patients' prognosis (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
The presence of SA has a significant relation to the poor prognosis of esophageal cancer patients, which highlights the importance of assessing and intervening in SA in clinical management so as to improve patient prognosis.
Core Tip: This study highlights the significant correlation between sarcopenia (SA) (diagnosed using Chun-Hou Chen method for SA measurement and index criteria) and poor prognosis in esophageal cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Key findings reveal that age, body mass index, prealbumin levels, and Karnofsky performance status score are independent risk factors for SA, while SA itself, along with tumor differentiation, American Joint Committee on Cancer staging, and serum markers (alpha-fetoprotein, thrombospondin-1, carcinoembryonic antigen), adversely impacts prognosis. These results underscore the importance of early SA assessment and nutritional intervention in clinical management to improve patient outcomes.
