Total skeletal, psoas and rectus abdominis muscle mass as prognostic factors for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

We investigated whether low skeletal muscle mass (LSMM) defined according to different muscle groups on computed tomography (CT) scans are predictive factors of survival for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this retrospective study, we analyzed patients who received sorafenib therapy for advanced HCC in a prospective patient cohort between 2007 and 2012. The total skeletal muscle (TSM), paraspinal muscle (PS), psoas muscle (PM), rectus abdominis (RA), and abdominal wall (AW) muscle areas were evaluated using a single CT slice at the third lumbar vertebra before treatment. LSMM was determined according to the TSM, PS, PM, RA and AW indices, which was calculated as the parameters divided by the square of the body height. We enrolled 137 patients. Women had significantly lower TSM index than men did (p