Towards Rapid Bedside Detection of Sarcopenia in Cancer Patients: The Role of Rectus Femoris Muscle Ultrasonography—A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study shows that using ultrasound to measure thigh muscle thickness can help quickly detect muscle loss in cancer patients, improving early diagnosis.

Contribution

The study introduces rectus femoris ultrasonography as a rapid, bedside tool for sarcopenia detection in cancer patients.

Findings

Sarcopenia was found in 12.2% of cancer patients, with probable sarcopenia in 27.2%.

Rectus femoris muscle thickness had good diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.752) for sarcopenia detection.

A cut-off of ≤7.59 mm for rectus femoris thickness achieved 83.3% sensitivity and 61.2% specificity.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Sarcopenia is a common yet underrecognized condition in cancer patients and is associated with increased treatment-related toxicity, functional decline, and poor clinical outcomes. Practical, rapid, and bedside-applicable tools are needed to detect sarcopenia early in routine oncology practice. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of rectus femoris muscle ultrasonography within an integrated clinical assessment combining handgrip strength and bioelectrical impedance analysis for the detection of sarcopenia in cancer patients. Materials and Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, 147 adult patients with malignancy were evaluated using a multimodal sarcopenia assessment framework. Muscle strength was assessed by handgrip dynamometry, muscle mass was estimated using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)-derived appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), and muscle morphology was evaluated using ultrasonographic measurements of the rectus femoris and biceps brachii muscles. Sarcopenia was defined and classified according to the EWGSOP2 criteria. Associations between clinical variables, BIA parameters, and ultrasonographic measurements were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of muscle ultrasonography for sarcopenia detection. Results: The mean age of the study population was 60.2 ± 11.2 years, and 51% of participants were male. Confirmed sarcopenia was identified in 12.2% of patients, while 27.2% were classified as having probable sarcopenia. Sarcopenic patients were significantly older (68.5 ± 7.6 vs. 59.0 ± 11.2 years, p = 0.001) and had lower handgrip strength (15.8 ± 6.0 vs. 24.3 ± 8.4 kg, p < 0.001) and ASMI values (5.96 ± 0.64 vs. 7.23 ± 1.18 kg/m2, p < 0.001). Rectus femoris muscle thickness was significantly reduced in patients with sarcopenia (6.40 ± 1.42 vs. 8.19 ± 2.21 mm, p = 0.001). Rectus femoris muscle thickness demonstrated good diagnostic performance for sarcopenia detection (AUC = 0.752; 95% CI: 0.650–0.853; p = 0.001), with an optimal cut-off value of ≤7.59 mm (sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 61.2%). Conclusions: Rectus femoris muscle ultrasonography is a practical, rapid bedside assessment for detecting sarcopenia in cancer patients. When integrated with handgrip strength and BIA, this multimodal approach provides a feasible, radiation-free strategy for early sarcopenia screening in routine oncology practice.

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