Skeletal Muscle Depletion Predicts the Prognosis of Patients with Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Undergoing Palliative Chemotherapy, Independent of Body Mass Index

Body composition has emerged as a prognostic factor in cancer patients. We investigated whether sarcopenia at diagnosis and loss of skeletal muscle during palliative chemotherapy were associated with survival in patients with pancreatic cancer.We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of pancreatic cancer patients receiving palliative chemotherapy between 2003 and 2010. The cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle at L3 by computed...