Evidence mapPaperPMID 41521251Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Sarcopenia, myosteatosis and systemic immunoinflammatory index in the prediction of survival in patients undergoing immunotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Yanjing Zeng, Jinmei Chen, Liuyu Li, Xinpeng Wang, Ying Ye, Tingjie Xiong, Wenmin Ying, Zhichao Fu

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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

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8 authors.

Yanjing Zeng *Department of Radiotherapy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College (900 th Hospital), Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, Fujian Province, China.
Jinmei Chen *Key Laboratory of Radiation Biology of Fujian Higher Education Institutions, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical University, 20 Cha-Zhong Road, Taijiang District, Fuzhou, 350005, China.
Liuyu Li *Department of Radiotherapy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College (900 th Hospital), Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, Fujian Province, China.
Xinpeng WangDepartment of Radiotherapy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College (900 th Hospital), Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, Fujian Province, China.
Ying YeDepartment of Radiotherapy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College (900 th Hospital), Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, Fujian Province, China.
Tingjie XiongDepartment of Radiotherapy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College (900 th Hospital), Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, Fujian Province, China.
Wenmin YingDepartment of Radiotherapy, Fuding Hospital, Fuding, 355200, Fujian Province, China. ywm15080015210@163.com.
Zhichao FuDepartment of Radiotherapy, Fuzong Clinical Medical College (900 th Hospital), Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350025, Fujian Province, China. fauster1112@126.com.

Funding

Open Subject Fund of Key Laboratory of Radiobiology in Fujian Province Universities 2023FSSW-01
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Survival prediction in patients with esophageal cancer is receiving a lot of attention from sarcopenia, myosteatosis, and systemic immune-inflammatory index (SII). The aim of this study was to investigate the survival prediction value of these parameters in esophageal cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Retrospective analysis of 178 patients with esophageal cancer who received immunotherapy and CT imaging. X-tile plots were utilized to determine optimal survival thresholds for skeletal muscle density (SMD), skeletal muscle index (SMI), and SII. The relationship between these parameters and patients’ overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was explored by Cox regression modeling and survival curve analysis. For OS, the Fine-Gray test was used to analyze competing risks. In addition, correlation and interaction analyses were performed on these indicators. Sarcopenia (mOS 10.3 months vs. 23.6 months; P < 0.001), and myosteatosis (mOS 13.0 months vs. 23.4 months; P = 0.008), high SII (14.4 months vs. 40.7 months; P = 0.002) were associated with poor OS. Multifactorial regression showed that sarcopenia (HR: 2.15; 95%CI: 1.19 ~ 3.88; P = 0.012), myosteatosis (HR: 2.34; 95%CI: 1.31 ~ 4.18; P = 0.004), and high SII (HR: 1.91; 95%CI: 1.15 ~ 3.18; P = 0.013) were the independent risk factors for OS in patients with esophageal cancer, but not for PFS. No significant association was found between sarcopenia, myosteatosis, or a high SII and non-cancer mortality in the competing risk model. In addition, there was a low positive correlation (r = 0.219, P = 0.004) and interaction (p = 0.008) between sarcopenia and myosteatosis. The SMI-SMD-SII score was established, and OS was significantly shorter in patients with score ≥ 2 than in patients with score = 0 and 1 (p < 0.001). This study found that sarcopenia, myosteatosis, and SII correlate significantly with survival in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving immunotherapy. However, the OS-PFS discrepancy may be confounded by subsequent therapies and does not directly reflect initial efficacy. Prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and inform personalized treatment.

Indexed as

Esophageal NeoplasmsImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsImmunotherapyInflammationSarcopeniaAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMuscle, SkeletalPrognosisRetrospective StudiesSurvival AnalysisImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsEsophageal cancerImmunotherapyMyosteatosisPrognosisSarcopeniaSystemic immune-inflammatory index

Identifiers

PMID41521251
PMCPMC12865019

What Socratic holds

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.