ABSTRACT
Background: Sarcopenia is often ignored in clinical practice despite being an important prognostic marker. SARC-F is a simple bedside score to assess muscle abnormalities in cirrhosis patients. However, there is limited Indian data on the validity of this score. Hence, we aimed to assess the validity of SARC-F score in a tertiary care center. Methods: A prospective observational study including consecutive 100 cirrhosis patients attending the gastroenterology outpatient department in Osmania Medical College and Hospital, Hyderabad, India, was conducted from Jan 2018 to Dec 2019. The primary aim was to assess the mean muscle volume loss (MVL) by computed tomography and handgrip (HG) strength for muscle strength decline (MSD) and compare the SARC-F score with standard cut-off values. Results: We included 100 cirrhosis patients (mean age: 45 years; males: 86%; child-pugh class B/C: 42/58). Sixty-nine percent of the patients had a SARC-F score of ≥4, whereas MVL and MSD were noted in 62% and 86% patients, respectively. Mid-arm circumference, skin-fold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC), and HG strength were significantly lower in patients with SARC-F score ≥4 than in those with SARC-F score <4 (P < 0.05). The Pearson correlation plot suggested a significant inverse correlation between the SARC-F score and MSD and SARC-F score and MVL. A SARC-F score of ≥4 had a sensitivity and specificity of 80.7% and 50% for MVL and 75.6% and 71.4% for MSD, respectively, whereas it was 83.3% and 52.5% for MSD and MVL combined, respectively. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for SARC-F as a predictor of MVL was 0.75 (95% confidence interval: 0.64-0.82; P=<0.001). On multivariate analysis, a high SARC-F score and low MAMC were predictive of MVL in cirrhosis patients. Conclusion: SARC-F score has good sensitivity as a bedside screening tool for sarcopenia in patients with cirrhosis. A high SARC-F score and low MAMC indicates the presence of MVL and warrants further evaluation for sarcopenia.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gastric cancer (GC) is a multifactorial disorder mediated by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental risk factors. GC is the most common cancer in India and it is the third prominent cause of cancer death worldwide. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of interstitial collagenase (MMP-1) gene appears to have an impact on the transcriptional activity and regulation of its expression. Hence, the present study is aimed to evaluate the role of interstitial collagenase gene-1607 1G/2G (rs1799750) promoter polymorphism in the etiology of GC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 166 GC patients and 202 control subjects. Genomic DNA was isolated from whole blood samples of the subjects, and the genotyping of interstitial collagenase promoter polymorphism was carried out by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Appropriate statistical methods were applied to test the significance of the results. RESULTS: The risk factor profile of the patients revealed that male gender, age above 50 years, addiction to alcohol and smoking were the most common risk factors (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the distribution of 2G/2G genotype (2G/2G vs. 1G/1G, P = 0.016) and 1G/2G genotype (2G/2G + 1G/2G vs. 1G/1G, P = 0.010) in patient group compared with that of the control subjects. CONCLUSION: The present study provides indirect evidence for the role of interstitial collagenase gene 1G/2G promoter polymorphism in the etiology of GC in South Indian population.
