Decreased cross-sectional muscle area in male patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and peritumoral collateral vessels

BACKGROUND Sarcopenia is the loss of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and is a sign of cancer cachexia. Patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) may show cachexia. AIM To evaluate the amount of SMM in male clear cell RCC (ccRCC) patients with and without collateral vessels. METHODS In this study, we included a total of 124 male Caucasian patients divided into two groups: ccRCCa group without collateral vessels (n = 54) and ccRCCp group with collateral vessels (n = 70). Total abdominal muscle area (TAMA) was measured in both groups using a computed tomography imaging-based approach. TAMA measures were also corrected for age in order to rule out age-related effects. RESULTS There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of TAMA (P < 0.05) driven by a reduction in patients with peritumoral collateral vessels. The result was confirmed by repeating the analysis with values corrected for age (P < 0.05), indicating no age effect on our findings. CONCLUSION This study showed a decreased TAMA in ccRCC patients with peritumoral collateral vessels. The presence of peritumoral collateral vessels adjacent to ccRCC might be a fine diagnostic clue to sarcopenia.