Cut-off values of skeletal muscle index and psoas muscle index at L3 vertebra level by computerized tomography to assess low muscle mass.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Computerized tomography (CT) is considered the gold standard for the evaluation of total skeletal muscle quantity. Skeletal muscle assessments at the L3 vertebra level revealed significantly correlated with total body muscle measurements. Clinicians need cut-offs to evaluate low muscle mass in various patients who already had CT imaging without any additional cost. This assessment is important to help the physicians to stratify the patients for mortality and other complications. It may also enable the diagnosis of malnutrition by the GLIM criteria. Few studies reported cut-offs in different populations. We aimed to provide cut-off values for total skeletal muscle index (SMI) and psoas muscle mass index (PMI) at the L3 vertebra level in the Turkish population. METHODS: We assessed the preoperative plain CT images of living adult liver donors who were admitted to a single transplantation center between June 2010 and April 2018. We derived cut-off values with two alternative methods, the 5th percentile value or mean minus two standard deviations and from two groups of study participants, i.e. the total study population and the younger subgroup aged between 18 and 40. RESULTS: The study population involved 601 subjects with a mean age of 32.5 ± 9 (range: 18-59 years) and 326 (54.2%) was male. The younger subgroup was composed of 482 individuals with a mean age of 28.8 ± 5.9 and 55.6% male. In patients aged between 18 and 40, PMI and SMI cut-offs by using the 5th percentile were 5.40 cm2/m2, 41.42 cm2/m2 for males; and 3.56 cm2/m2, 30.70 cm2/m2 for females; respectively. The cut-offs of PMI and SMI by using mean minus two standard deviations were 4.62 cm2/m2, 38.67 cm2/m2 for males; and 2.66 cm2/m2, 27.8 cm2/m2 for females; respectively. These cut-offs were comparable to the other populations. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provided cut-offs to be used in CT images for PMI and SMI. There is a need for further longitudinal studies to verify whether these cut-offs are successful in predicting mortality or other adverse outcomes associated with low muscle mass.

Encapsulated Papillary Carcinoma in A Man with Gynecomastia: Ultrasonography, Mammography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features with Pathologic Correlation.

Male breast cancer is an uncommon disease that constitutes 1% of all breast cancers and encapsulated papillary carcinoma (EPC) is a rare subtype of malignant male diseases. Gynecomastia is the most common disease of the male breast. We report a 63-year-old male patient with EPC accompanied by gynecomastia that was diagnosed and treated at our breast center. Mammography showed an oval-shaped dense mass with circumscribed margins on the ground of nodular gynecomastia. On ultrasonographic exam, we saw a well-circumscribed complex mass with a solid component which was vascular on Doppler ultrasonography. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a complex cystic mass containing solid components. Dynamic images showed enhancement of the cystic mass wall and mural components. Tumor stage was evaluated as T2N0. The lesion's histologic examination and immunohistochemical analysis by showing no myoepithelial layer revealed an encapsulated papillary carcinoma. To our knowledge, this is the first case report which describes MR imaging findings of male breast encapsulated papillary cancer.