Impact of pectoralis muscle loss on cardiac outcome and survival in Cancer patients who received anthracycline based chemotherapy: retrospective study

INTRODUCTION: The impact of pectoralis muscle mass index (PMI) on cardiac events is not well studied in cancer patients, especially in those who have received chemotherapy with high potential cardiac toxicity such as anthracyclines. METHODS: Individuals aged ≥18 years with a diagnosis of breast cancer, sarcoma, or lymphoma who received anthracycline-based chemotherapy at the University of Minnesota MHealth Fairview between 2009 and 2014. Eligible patients had to have two CT scans: a baseline CT scan within 6 months prior to chemotherapy and a follow-up CT scan within 2 years after treatment. The PMI was calculated as the right pectoralis muscle area indexed to height squared. Multivariable linear regression was used to analyze factors associated with PMI at follow-up, overall mortality, and major cardiac events (MACE). RESULTS: A total of 474 patients (breast cancer 192; lymphoma 184; sarcoma 98) participated with a median age of 61 years at the time of baseline CT scan; 161 (34%) were male. Almost all patients received anthracyclines except 12% who received trastuzumab only. The median baseline PMI was 5.8 cm(2)/m(2) (4.9, 7.7) which decreased 10.5% after chemotherapy, to 5.2 cm(2)/m(2) (4.4, 6.4). Baseline PMI was not significantly associated with OS, but we detected lower risks of MACE with larger PMI at baseline. Greater baseline PMI was associated with greater follow-up PMI, but also with greater relative PMI loss. Female gender, older age, and history of smoking were also associated with greater PMI losses. CONCLUSION: Greater pre-treatment pectoralis muscle index in patients treated with anthracyclines have a lower risk of MACE. Early identification of sarcopenia using PMI could trigger proactive engagement for intervention and risk-stratified therapies. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09882-w.