Purpose: The effect of pre-existing sarcopenia on patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) remains unknown. Therefore, we designed a propensity score-matched population-based cohort study to compare the oncological outcomes of patients with OCSCC undergoing curative surgery with and without sarcopenia. Patients and Methods: We included patients with OCSCC undergoing curative surgery and categorized them into two groups according to the presence or absence of pre-existing sarcopenia. Patients in both the groups were matched at a ratio of 2:1. Results: The matching process yielded 16,294 patients (10,855 and 5439 without and with pre-existing sarcopenia, respectively). In multivariate Cox regression analyses, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR, 95% confidence interval [CI]) of all-cause mortality for OCSCC with and without pre-existing sarcopenia was 1.15 (1.11−1.21, p < 0.0001). Furthermore, the aHRs (95% CIs) of locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis for OCSCC with and without pre-existing sarcopenia were 1.07 (1.03−1.18, p = 0.0020) and 1.07 (1.03−1.20, p = 0.0148), respectively. Conclusions: Pre-existing sarcopenia might be a significant poor prognostic factor for overall survival, locoregional recurrence, and distant metastasis for patients with OCSCC undergoing curative surgery. In susceptible patients at a risk of OCSCC, sarcopenia prevention measures should be encouraged, such as exercise and early nutrition intervention.
Keywords: OCSCC; nonsarcopenia; prognosis; sarcopenia; survival.