Prognostic Significance of Preoperative Osteopenia in Patients Undergoing Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer

Osteopenia, which exhibits low bone mineral density (BMD), has been linked to sarcopenia and recently reported as a prognostic factor in various cancers. However, the prognostic significance of osteopenia in esophageal cancer remains unclear. Hence, this study aimed to clarify the impact of osteopenia on the prognosis of patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer. We included 229 patients who underwent esophagectomy. BMD was calculated as the average pixel density (Hounsfield unit) within a circle in midvertebral core at the 11th thoracic vertebra on preoperative computed tomography. We then divided the patients into the Osteopenia group (n = 159) and the Non-Osteopenia group (n = 70) according to the optimal cutoff value obtained from the receiver operating characteristic curve. Their clinicopathological data, prognosis, and recurrence were analyzed. The mean age was significantly older in the Osteopenia group (p = 0.047). The Osteopenia group had significantly worse overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) than the Non-Osteopenia group (p = 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed osteopenia was an independent prognostic factor for OS (p < 0.001; hazard ratio [HR], 2.243; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.422–3.538) and RFS (p = 0.008; HR, 1.739; 95% CI, 1.154–2.620). In logistic regression model, advanced age and cStage III-IV were independent risk factors for preoperative osteopenia. Preoperative osteopenia is associated with poor survival and recurrence in patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer.