Sarcopenia Does Not Impact the Outcome of Patients with Multiple Myeloma Consolidated with Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Sarcopenia has been associated with chronic diseases and cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate sarcopenia in multiple myeloma patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> In 68 eligible patients, measurement of skeletal muscle area (cm²) on computed tomography scans at the level of the L3 vertebra (L3 SMI) was performed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> 37 (54%) patients were categorized as sarcopenic: 26 males with L3 SMI values &lt;52.4 cm²/m², and 11 women with L3 SMI values &lt;38.9 cm²/m². The majority of sarcopenic patients included were older than 60 years (69%, <i>p</i> = 0.0005), with BMI &lt;25 (75%; <i>p</i> = 0.0000). A significant association was found between sarcopenia and Sorror score value &gt;1 (<i>p</i> = 0.02). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> The Kaplan-Meier curve showed a median OS of 73.5 months for non-sarcopenic patients versus 86.5 months for sarcopenic patients, suggesting that sarcopenia is not an independent prognostic factor in this cohort of patients. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these data.