Prognostic significance of osteosarcopenia in older adults with colorectal cancer

AIM: Osteopenia and sarcopenia, features of the aging process, are recognized as major health problems in an aging society. This study investigated the prognostic impact of osteosarcopenia, the coexistence of osteopenia and sarcopenia, in older adults undergoing curative resection for colorectal cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data of older adults aged 65–98 y who had undergone curative resection for colorectal cancer. Osteopenia was evaluated by bone mineral density measurement in the midvertebral core of the 11th thoracic vertebra on preoperative computed tomography images. Sarcopenia was evaluated by measuring the skeletal muscle cross‐sectional area at the third lumbar vertebra level. Osteosarcopenia was defined as the coexistence of osteopenia and sarcopenia. We explored the relationship of preoperative osteosarcopenia with the disease‐free and overall survival after curative resection. RESULTS: Among the 325 patients included, those with osteosarcopenia had significantly lower overall survival rates than those with osteopenia or sarcopenia alone (P < 0.01). In the multivariate analysis, male sex (P = 0.045), C‐reactive protein‐to‐albumin ratio (P < 0.01), osteosarcopenia (P < 0.01), pathological T4 stage (P = 0.023), and pathological N1/N2 stage (P < 0.01) were independent predictors of disease‐free survival, while age (P < 0.01), male sex (P = 0.049), C‐reactive protein‐to‐albumin ratio (P < 0.01), osteosarcopenia (P < 0.01), pathological T4 stage (P = 0.036), pathological N1/N2 stage (P < 0.01), and carbohydrate antigen 19–9 (P = 0.041) were independent predictors of overall survival. CONCLUSION: Osteosarcopenia was a strong predictor of poor outcomes in older adults undergoing curative resection for colorectal cancer, suggesting an important role of osteosarcopenia in an aging society.