Introduction: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains the most lethal of gynecological cancers. Sarcopenia and low Skeletal Muscle Radiodensity (SMD) are highly prevalent in EOC. Cross sectional imaging via MRI and CT are considered the gold standard for quantification of muscle mass and muscle density. Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) and SMD-based thresholds for sarcopenia in EOC vary significantly and specific EOC thresholds for sarcopenia have not been defined.
Areas covered: Sarcopenia and low SMD are highly prevalent in EOC affecting between 11-68% and 21-35% of women, respectively. SMD may be a better prognostic biomarker in ovarian cancer than SMI. Reduced SMI and SMD may also influence the risk of postoperative complications but further studies are required. There is increasing evidence that sarcopenia increases during neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Expert commentary: Prehabilitation studies in surgical oncology indicate encouraging results, such as, maintenance of SMI, reduced length of stay and surgical complication rates, improved health-related quality of life and functional capacity. Early identification of body composition abnormalities would permit targeted intervention prior to, and after surgery. Cross-sectional imaging is routinely used for staging and surveillance of EOC patients and hence assessment of body composition abnormalities is possible and an underutilized resource.
Keywords: Chemotherapy toxicity; ovarian cancer; sarcopenia; skeletal muscle attenuation; survival.