Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare reliability, costs, and radiation dose of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to MRI and CT in measuring muscle mass for the diagnosis ...of sarcopenia.
Methods
Thirty-four consecutive DXA scans performed in surgically menopausal women from November 2019 until March 2020 were analyzed by two observers. Observers analyzed muscle mass of the lower limbs in every scan twice. Reliability was assessed by calculating inter- and intra-observer variability. Reliability from CT and MRI as well as radiation dose from CT and DXA were collected from literature. Costs for each type of scan were calculated according to the guidelines for economic evaluation of the Dutch National Health Care Institute.
Results
The 34 participants had a median age of 58 years (IQR 53–65) and a median body mass index of 24.6 (IQR 21.7–29.7). Inter-observer variability had an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.997 (95% CI 0.994–0.998) with a relative variability of 0.037 ± 0.022%. Regarding intra-observer variability, observer 1 had an ICC of 0.998 (95% CI 0.996–0.999) with a relative variability of 0.019 ± 0.016% and observer 2 had an ICC of 0.997 (95% CI 0.993–0.998) with a relative variability of 0.016 ± 0.011%. DXA costs were €62, CT €77, and MRI €195. The estimated radiation dose of CT was 2.5–3.0 mSv, for DXA this was 2–4 µSv.
Conclusions
DXA has lower costs and a lower radiation dose, with low inter- and intra-observer variability, compared to CT and MRI for assessing lower limb muscle mass.
Trial registration
Netherlands Trial Register; NL8068.
Critical relevance statement
DXA is a good alternative for CT and MRI in assessing lower limb muscle mass, with lower costs and lower radiation dose, while inter-observer and intra-observer variability are low.
Key points
• Screening for sarcopenia should be optimized as the population ages.
• DXA outperformed CT and MRI in the measured metrics.
• DXA validity should be further evaluated as an alternative to CT and MRI for sarcopenia evaluation.
Graphical Abstract
The aim of this study was to describe the long-term outcome of asymptomatic BRCA1/2 germline pathogenic variant (GPV) carriers with high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) in their risk-reducing ...salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) specimen.
In a previously described cohort of asymptomatic BRCA1/2 GPV carriers derived from the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian cancer in the Netherlands (HEBON) study, women with HGSC at RRSO were identified. Main outcome was ten-year disease-free survival (DFS). Secondary outcomes were time to recurrence, ten-year disease-specific survival (DSS), ten-year overall survival (OS). Patient, disease and treatment characteristics associated with recurrence were described.
The 28 included women with HGSC at RRSO were diagnosed at a median age of 55.3 years (range: 33.5–74.3). After staging, eighteen women had (FIGO) stage I, three stage II and five had stage III disease. Two women did not undergo surgical staging and were classified as unknown stage. After a median follow-up of 13.5 years (range: 9.1–24.7), six women with stage I (33%), one woman with stage II (33%), two women with stage III (40%) and none of the women with unknown stage developed a recurrence. Median time to recurrence was 6.9 years (range: 0.8–9.2 years). Ten-year DFS was 68%, ten-year DSS was 88% and ten-year OS was 82%.
Most asymptomatic BRCA1/2 GPV carriers with HGSC at RRSO were diagnosed at an early stage. Nevertheless, after a median follow-up of 13.5 years, nine of the 28 women with HGSC at RRSO developed a recurrence after a median of 6.9 years.
•Three-quarters of the asymptomatic BRCA1/2 GPV carriers with HGSC at RRSO had early stage disease.•The ten-year disease-free survival was 68%, ten-year disease-specific survival was 88% and ten-year overall-survival was 82%.•After a median follow-up of 13.5 years, recurrence rate was 32% with median time to recurrence of 6.9 years (range 0.8–9.2).•Timely RRSO remains the only reliable method of reducing mortality of HGSC in BRCA1/2 GPV carriers.
To investigate the prevalence of and clinical factors associated with high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) at risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) in asymptomatic
-pathogenic variant (PV) ...carriers.
We included
-PV carriers who underwent RRSO between 1995 and 2018 from the Hereditary Breast and Ovarian cancer in the Netherlands study. All pathology reports were screened, and histopathology reviews were performed for RRSO specimens with epithelial abnormalities or where HGSC developed after normal RRSO. We then compared clinical characteristics, including parity and oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use, for women with and without HGSC at RRSO.
Of the 2,557 included women, 1,624 had
, 930 had
, and three had both
-PV. The median age at RRSO was 43.0 years (range: 25.3-73.8) for
-PV and 46.8 years (27.6-77.9) for
-PV carriers. Histopathologic review confirmed 28 of 29 HGSCs and two further HGSCs from among 20 apparently normal RRSO specimens. Thus, 24 (1.5%)
-PV and 6 (0.6%)
-PV carriers had HGSC at RRSO, with the fallopian tube identified as the primary site in 73%. The prevalence of HGSC in women who underwent RRSO at the recommended age was 0.4%. Among
PV carriers, older age at RRSO increased the risk of HGSC and long-term OCP use was protective.
We detected HGSC in 1.5% (
-PV) and 0.6% (
-PV) of RRSO specimens from asymptomatic
-PV carriers. Consistent with the fallopian tube hypothesis, we found most lesions in the fallopian tube. Our results highlight the importance of timely RRSO with total removal and assessment of the fallopian tubes and show the protective effects of long-term OCP.
