Clinical impact of body composition on postoperative outcomes during neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for distal bile duct cancer.

Body composition changes during neoadjuvant therapy and their clinical significance have not been clarified. The present study aimed to investigate body composition changes during neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NACRT) in patients with distal bile duct cancer and the clinical impact on postoperative complications and the prognosis. A total of 16 patients with distal bile duct cancer who underwent curative resection after NACRT were retrospectively evaluated. The area of skeletal muscle, visceral fat and subcutaneous fat on computed tomography and immunological and nutritional indices were assessed before and after NACRT. All 16 patients completed NACRT followed by pancreaticoduodenectomy without mortality. There was no significant change in the skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) during NACRT. Of the 16 patients, nine (56%) were defined as sarcopenic before NACRT, and eight (50%) met the criteria for sarcopenic after NACRT. The SMI and total fat area were significantly associated with postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) (P=0.019 and P=0.007, respectively). The patients with sarcopenia had a shorter disease-free survival time and overall survival time in comparison to patients without sarcopenia (P=0.025 and P=0.115, respectively). In conclusion, NACRT for distal bile duct cancer did not significantly affect the body composition, or the immunological or nutritional indices. Sarcopenia after NACRT was significantly associated with early recurrence in patients with distal bile duct cancer who received NACRT.