• Pei-Jui Luo, Kai-I Chuang, Cheng-Fu Ni, Hsiao-Yu Yeh, Ming-Shun Wu, Yao-Yu Hsieh, Wei-Yu Kao, and Chih-Horng Wu.
• Department of Medical Imaging and Radiology, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taiwan.
• J Formos Med Assoc. 2025 Jan 9.

PurposeTo investigate the association of skeletal muscle mass and quality with survival outcomes in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with lenvatinib (LEN).MethodsIn this retrospective study, LEN-treated patients with HCC were enrolled. Sarcopenia and myosteatosis were evaluated on the basis of baseline skeletal muscle index and mean muscle attenuation, respectively, on computed tomography at the L3 level. Low skeletal muscle mass (LSMM) was determined on the basis of index value, and bioinformatics tools were used to determine reliable cutoff values. Myosteatosis was defined on the basis of mean Hounsfield unit values and predefined cutoff values. A logrank test and Cox proportional hazards model were used to compare overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).ResultsA total of 81 patients were included. Patients with LSMM exhibited significantly lower PFS (p = 0.003) and OS (p = 0.010) than did patients without LSMM. Patients with myosteatosis exhibited significantly lower PFS (p = 0.012) and OS (p < 0.001) than did patients without myosteatosis. In multivariate analysis adjusted for tumor extent and liver function reserve, LSMM and myosteatosis remained independent predictors of low PFS (p = 0.028, p = 0.031) and OS (p = 0.027, p = 0.001), respectively.ConclusionLSMM and myosteatosis are independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS in advanced patients with HCC who received LEN and may exert synergistic effects on these survival outcomes.Copyright © 2025 Formosan Medical Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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