Sarcopenia is associated with leukopenia in urothelial carcinoma patients who receive tislelizumab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin therapy

Background In the era of combination therapy, there has been limited research on body composition. Specific body composition, such as sarcopenia, possesses the potential to serve as a predictive biomarker for toxic effects and clinical response in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) undergoing tislelizumab combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin (T + GC). Materials and Methods A total of 112 UC patients who received T + GC were selected at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from April 2020 to January 2023. Baseline patient characteristics and detailed hematological parameters were collected using the electronic medical system and laboratory examinations. The computed tomography images of patients were analyzed to calculate psoas muscle mass index (PMI). We evaluated the association between sarcopenia (PMI < 4.5 cm 2 /m 2 in men; PMI < 3.3 cm 2 /m 2 in women) and both hematological toxicity and tumor response. Results Overall, of the 112 patients (65.2% male, median age 56 years), 43 (38.4%) were defined as sarcopenia. Patients with sarcopenia were notably older ( p = 0.037), more likely to have hypertension ( p = 0.009), and had poorer ECOG-PS ( p = 0.027). Patients with sarcopenia were more likely to develop leukopenia (OR 2.969, 95% CI 1.028–8.575, p = 0.044) after receiving at least two cycles of T + GC. However, these significant differences were not observed in thrombocytopenia and anemia. There were no significant differences in the tumor response and grade 3–4 hematological toxicity between patients with sarcopenia and those without sarcopenia. Conclusions Patients with sarcopenia were more likely to develop leukopenia after receiving T + GC. There were no notable alterations observed in relation to anemia or thrombocytopenia. No significant difference was found between the sarcopenia group and non-sarcopenia group in terms of tumor response and grade 3–4 hematological toxicity.