Maintenance of skeletal muscle mass during FOLFIRINOX is a favorable prognostic factor in pancreatic cancer patients

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the effect of body composition changes during chemotherapy on clinical outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer. RESULTS: In patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC), the cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle (SM) and adipose tissue (AT) at the level of third lumbar vertebra was measured. The SM and AT ratios indicated the changes during chemotherapy. The patients were classified into three groups based on these ratios: group 1, ≥ 1.00; group 2, 0.85–0.99; group 3, < 0.85. The overall survival (OS) and surgical resection rates were estimated. Fifty-eight patients with LAPC who received first-line FOLFIRINOX were analyzed. Fifteen (25.9%) patients who underwent resection showed maintained BMI, SM, and AT as compared to the patients who did not undergo resection. As the SM ratio decreased, the risk for death increased significantly. Further, the resection rate was significantly higher in patients with maintained SM compared to those with low SM ratio. On the contrary, the change in AT ratio was not associated with OS and resection rate; however, significant decrease in AT more than 15% showed poor clinical outcomes. Maintenance of SM during chemotherapy is a reliable prognostic factor indicating longer OS and higher resection rate. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-021-05681-x.