Bladder cancer belongs to one of the top ten most common cancers in the world with approximately 550,000 cases annually. The general 5-year survival rate for people with bladder cancer is 77%. The overall 10-year survival rate is 70% and the overall 15-year survival rate is 65%. Low muscle mass is prevalent in these patients receiving chemotherapy. In this meta-analysis, we aim to assess the impact of low muscle mass on overall survival in bladder cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. A literature search using confidence method, was conducted by two independent reviewers on all of the studies that include low muscle mass in bladder cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy using Google Scholar, PubMed, and PubMed central databases. Outcome of interest in this study is the overall survival. Data synthesis and statistical analysis were carried out using Review Manager Software.
A total of 4 studies were eligible for meta-analysis including a total of 370 bladder cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. All of the studies were observational studies. Meta-analysis revealed that there are no association between low muscle mass and overall survival (HR 1.24; 95% CI 0.71-2.19; P< 0.45). The quality of this study was assessed with Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) shows “good” quality in all included studies.
Our meta-analysis shows that low muscle mass is not associated with the overall survival of bladder cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Further study need evaluate in better patient selection and adjusting the confounder.
The authors.
Has not received any funding.
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.