Table 1.
General characteristics of patients with cancer of the head of the pancreas according to low and high muscle radiation attenuation
| Total (n = 186) | Low muscle radiation attenuation (n = 62) | Moderate–high muscle radiation attenuation (n = 124) | P‐value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male (n, %) | 102 (54.8%) | 34 (54.8%) | 68 (54.8%) | 1.000 |
| Age (years) | 66.5 | 69.8 ± 8.7 | 64.8 ± 9.8 | 0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 25.2 | 26.8 ± 5.2 | 24.4 ± 3.9 | <0.001 |
| Weight loss (%)a | 9.4 | 11.0 ± 8.4 | 8.7 ± 7.0 | 0.124 |
| Comorbidity (n, %)a | ||||
| Diabetes mellitus | 42 (22.6%) | 16 (25.8%) | 26 (21.0%) | 0.492 |
| Cardiac | 78 (41.9%) | 32 (51.6%) | 46 (37.1%) | 0.071 |
| Pulmonary | 19 (10.2%) | 7 (11.3%) | 12 (9.7%) | 0.759 |
| Renal | 9 (4.8%) | 4 (6.5%) | 5 (4.0%) | 0.488 |
| Pathology (n, %) | ||||
| Pancreatic | 73 (39.2%) | 21 (33.9%) | 52 (41.9%) | 0.288 |
| Ampullary | 28 (15.1%) | 9 (14.5%) | 19 (15.3%) | 0.885 |
| Cholangiocarcinoma | 10 (5.4%) | 1 (1.6%) | 9 (7.3%) | 0.169 |
| Duodenal carcinoma | 8 (4.3%) | 3 (4.8%) | 5 (4.0%) | 1.000 |
| Otherb | 5 (2.7%) | 1 (1.6%) | 4 (3.2%) | 0.666 |
| None available/palliative surgeryc | 62 (33.3%) | 27 (42.5%) | 35 (28.2%) | 0.037 |
| Composite endpoint (n, %)a | 88 (47.3%) | 34 (55.8%) | 54 (43.5%) | 0.130 |
| Intra‐abdominal abscess | 35 (18.8%) | 14 (22.6%) | 21 (16.9%) | 0.339 |
| Sepsis | 23 (12.4%) | 6 (9.7%) | 17 (13.7%) | 0.453 |
| Gastrojejunostomy leakage | 7 (3.8%) | 2 (3.2%) | 5 (4.0%) | 1.000 |
| Post‐pancreaticoduodenectomy haemorrhage | 22 (11.8%) | 7 (11.3%) | 15 (12.1%) | 0.872 |
| Bile leakage | 16 (8.6%) | 6 (9.7%) | 10 (8.1%) | 0.724 |
| Pancreatic fistula | 26 (14.0%) | 10 (16.1%) | 16 (12.9%) | 0.550 |
| Delayed gastric emptying | 44 (23.7%) | 17 (27.4%) | 27 (21.8%) | 0.356 |
| Operative mortality | 26 (14.0%) | 9 (14.5%) | 15 (12.1%) | 0.643 |
| Surgical site infections (n, %) | 101 (54.3%) | 34 (54.8%) | 67 (54.0%) | 0.917 |
| Incisional | 73 (39.2%) | 26 (41.9%) | 47 (37.9%) | 0.595 |
| Organ/space | 49 (26.3%) | 18 (29.0%) | 31 (25.0%) | 0.556 |
| Laboratory results (pre‐operative) | ||||
| C‐reactive protein (mg/L)a | 37.0 | 37.9 ± 50.6 | 36.5 ± 60.2 | 0.913 |
| Albumin (g/L)a | 34.4 | 31.0 ± 6.2 | 35.8 ± 6.3 | 0.006 |
Muscle radiation attenuation was measured as the average Hounsfield units of the total skeletal muscle area on a single cross‐sectional computer tomography image at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Sex‐specific cut‐offs for muscle radiation attenuation were determent at the lower tertile (male: 33.9 HU, female: 30.9 HU).
HU, Hounsfield units.
Missing data were excluded: weight loss n = 67, comorbidity n = 2, composite endpoint n = 2, C‐reactive protein n = 97, and albumin n = 122.
Renal cell carcinoma (n = 1), malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumour (n = 1), gallbladder carcinoma (n = 1), colon carcinoma (n = 1), and leiomyosarcoma (n = 1).
Pathology was not available in cases where the surgeon decided to convert to palliative surgery because of an incurable disease (e.g. peritoneal metastases).