To summarize current approaches to CT-derived muscle quality assessment and evaluate its association with early postoperative outcomes in esophagogastric cancer surgery.
Approach:
Method: label
Method: text
Key Findings:
Myosteatosis was consistently associated with major postoperative complications (Clavien–Dindo ≥ III), with effect sizes ranging from approximately 2 to 5 across multiple cohorts.
Associations with overall morbidity and specific complications varied across studies, and length of stay findings were inconsistent.
Muscle quality demonstrated stronger prognostic associations than muscle quantity alone in several studies.
Composite body composition measures integrating muscle quality with muscle quantity, adiposity, or functional parameters showed improved predictive performance.
Interpretation:
CT-derived myosteatosis appears to be an important marker of major postoperative morbidity in esophagogastric oncologic surgery and may provide complementary prognostic information beyond muscle quantity alone.
Limitations:
Substantial methodological heterogeneity limits comparability between studies and may affect clinical implementation.
Lack of standardization in muscle quality assessment hinders the ability to draw definitive conclusions.
Conclusion:
Future research should prioritize the standardization of muscle quality assessment methods and the validation of clinically accessible assessment approaches.
