Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status Scale as a Screening Tool for Sarcopenia in Onco-Hematology Patients

Abstract The present study aimed to assess the sensitivity of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG-PS) scale for scores other than 0 as a screening tool for sarcopenia in onco-hematology patients. A retrospective cohort study of 104 onco-hematology patients aged > 19 years and treated at the Diagnostic and Imaging Center and at an outpatient clinic of a private tertiary hospital was conducted. Sarcopenia was defined as a skeletal muscle index (SMI) of ≤ 38.5 cm2/m2 for women and ≤ 52.4 cm2/m2 for men based on positron emission tomography-computed tomography scans. Functional status was assessed using an ECOG-PS score of 0 (indicating no dysfunction) or a score of ≥ 1 (indicating dysfunction). Accuracy analysis was conducted to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the ECOG-PS as a screening tool for sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was observed in 57.7% of patients. The median SMI was 43.3 (55.1) kg/m2. Sarcopenia diagnosis was positively associated with male sex (p = 0.027) and an ECOG-PS score of ≥ 1 (p = 0.048). As a screening tool for sarcopenia, the ECOG-PS had sensitivity and specificity of 40.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 30.6–50.8) and 83.8% (95% CI 75.1–92.9), respectively. Sarcopenia is a challenge in cancer. The association of sarcopenia with an ECOG-PS score of ≥ 1 observed in this study reinforces the study hypothesis and importance of further studies on the subject.