Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The prognostic significance of a high visceral fat area (VFA) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) remains unclear. We evaluated the prognostic impact of high-VFA on the long-term outcomes of patients with mCRC who underwent chemotherapy. METHODS: Ninety patients with metastatic CRC who underwent chemotherapy were included. VFA measurement was performed by pre-treatment computed tomography using image analysis system. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model and Kaplan-Meier curves with the log-rank test. RESULTS: High-VFA was identified in 39 patients. The OS (2-year OS rates: 51.6% vs 33.3%, p=0.0023) and PFS rates (2-year PFS rates: 18.0% vs 2.7%, p=0.012) were significantly lower in the high-VFA group than in the low-VFA group. In multivariate analysis, the independent significant predictors of OS were carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) ≥37.0 U/mL (HR: 1.99, 95%CI [1.20-3.31], p=0.007), Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) of 1 or 2 (HR: 2.65, 95%CI [1.53-4.58], p<0.001), and high-VFA (HR: 3.09, 95%CI [1.81-5.25], p<0.001). Similarly, the independent significant predictors of PFS were CA19-9 ≥37.0 U/mL (HR: 2.02, 95%CI [1.21-3.38], p=0.007), GPS of 1 or 2 (HR: 1.87, 95%CI [1.17-2.99], p=0.008), and high-VFA (HR: 2.65, 95% CI [1.61-4.35], p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that pre-treatment high-VFA and high-GPS were significantly associated with worse OS and PFS rates in patients with mCRC who underwent chemotherapy.