Association between postoperative iliopsoas muscle cross-sectional area changes and prognosis in elderly patients with lung cancer

Background: The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the iliopsoas muscle on computed tomography is associated with sarcopenia, but its perioperative changes and prognostic significance in lung cancer remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify postoperative changes in the iliopsoas CSA and their prognostic correlation in the perioperative period of lung cancer. Methods: We analyzed 270 patients with lung cancer age ≥70 years who underwent lobectomy between January 2016 and December 2020. Iliopsoas CSA at the L3 vertebral level was measured preoperatively and at 6 and 12 months postoperatively and analyzed with ImageJ software. Patients were grouped based on whether their CSA decreased or increased between 6 months and 12 months postoperatively. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between groups. Results: = .05). Conclusions: In elderly patients with primary lung cancer, decreased iliopsoas CSA from 6 months to 12 months postoperatively was at least an independent poor prognostic factor for OS.