Background:
Skeletal muscle depletion, referred to as sarcopenia, may be an objective and comprehensive patient-specific risk factor of mortality and morbidity. The present study investigated the impact of the quantity and quality of skeletal muscle on survival in patients undergoing resection of pancreatic cancer.

Material and Methods:
This study comprised 218 patients who underwent resection of pancreatic cancer between January 2004 and December 2012. The quantity and quality of skeletal muscle were evaluated by psoas muscle index (PMI) and intramuscular adipose tissue content (tIhMe uAmCb)ilaitcal level of preoperative CT, respectively. The correlations between PMI or IMAC and other patient factors, the overall survival rate in patients classified according to PMI, and poor prognostic factors after pancreatic resection were analyzed.

Result:
PMI in male was significantly higher than that in female (p<0.001). IMAC in male was significantly lower than that in female (p<0.001). PMI was significantly correlated with BMI in both sexes, and ChE in male. IMAC was significantly correlated with age in both sexes, and inversely correlated with Alb in female. The overall survival rate in patients with low PMI was significantly lower than that in patients with normal PMI (p=0.005). Multivariate analysis showed that low PMI, advanced pathological stage, age (over 70) were independent poor prognostic factors in all patients. High IMAC was a poor prognostic factor in male following pancreatico-duodenectomy.

Conclusion:
Preoperative sarcopenia was a poor prognostic factor in patients undergoing resection of pancreatic cancer.