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Video

Head and Neck Surgery

(A561) Impact of Sarcopenia on Post-operative Complications and Oncological Outcomes of Head and Neck Cancer Patients.

Monday, October 13, 2025
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Location: OTO EXPO, Posters

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Ramez Hani Salameh, MD

    Doctor
    Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
    Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Israel

    • Co-Author(s)

  • JM

    Jobran Mansour, MD

    Assistant Professor
    Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
    Philadelphia, PA, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • JM

    Jobran Mansour, MD

    Assistant Professor
    Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
    Philadelphia, PA, United States

Disclosure(s):
Ramez Hani Salameh, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.
Jobran Mansour, MD: No relevant relationships to disclose.


Introduction: In the last decade sarcopenia has been shown to be a negative prognostic indicator in various cancers. Our aim in this study was to evaluate the correlation between preoperative sarcopenia and post-op complications and oncological outcomes in head and neck patients.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted between January 2017 and December 2022. Eighty-eight HNC patients who underwent surgical resection with or without free flap reconstruction were included. All patients had available pre-operative imaging prior to surgery. Patient characteristics, post-operative complications, adjuvant therapies and oncological outcomes were recorded. The skeletal mass index was primarily calculated at the level of cervical vertebrae 3 (C3) and lumbar vertebrae 3 (L3) to determine sarcopenia. JMP SAS 16.2 was used for statistical analysis.

Results: A total of 88 patients were included, 52 were males and mean age was 62.8 years. Most common site was the oral cavity (75%) followed by larynx (17%). Mucosal squamous cell carcinoma was the most common pathology (84.1%). Up to two-thirds of patients were diagnosed with advanced stage III/IV at presentation. Sarcopenia was found in 23 patients (26.1%) who were mostly males, had lower mean BMI values and more likely to smoke. No difference between the two groups in patient and disease characteristics. Sarcopenic patients had higher wound infections rates (p=0.02). No other significant association with medical or surgical complications was noted. Additionally, sarcopenia was correlated with poorer 5-year recurrence-free survival rates (p= 0.006), though it does not appear to affect overall survival rates.

Conclusions: No significant association was observed between sarcopenia and post-op complications apart from wound infection rates. However, sarcopenia was correlated with poorer 5-year recurrence-free survival rates. Further research needs to be conducted to consolidate the influence of sarcopenia on HNC surgeries and optimize surgical and oncological outcomes.