Clear cell renal cell carcinoma: the value of sex-specific abdominal visceral fat measured on CT for prediction of Fuhrman nuclear grade.

To explore whether sex-specific abdominal visceral fat composition on CT can predict the Fuhrman nuclear grade of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

One hundred seventy-one patients (123 males and 48 females) from four hospitals (multicentre group) and 159 patients (109 males and 50 females) from the cancer imaging archive (TCIA-KIRC group) with pathologically proven ccRCC (multicentre: 124 low grade and 47 high grade; TCIA-KIRC: 79 low grade and 80 high grade) were retrospectively included. Abdominal fat was segmented into subcutaneous fat area (SFA) and visceral fat area (VFA) on CT using ImageJ. The total fat area (TFA) and relative VFA (rVFA) were then calculated. Clinical characteristics (age, sex, waist circumference and maximum tumour diameter) were also assessed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the association between general or sex-specific visceral fat composition and Fuhrman grade.

Females with high-grade ccRCC from the multicentre group had a higher rVFA (42.4 vs 31.3, p = 0.001) than those with low-grade ccRCC after adjusting for age. There was no significant difference in males. The rVFA remained a stable and independent predictor for females high-grade ccRCC in both the univariate (multicentre: OR 1.205, 95% CI 1.074-1.352, p = 0.001; TCIA-KIRC: OR 1.171, 95% CI 1.016-1.349, p = 0.029) and multivariate (multicentre: OR 1.095, 95% CI 1.024-1.170, p = 0.003; TCIA-KIRC: OR 1.103, 95% CI 1.024-1.187, p = 0.010) models.

Sex-specific visceral fat composition has different values for predicting high-grade ccRCC and could be used as an independent predictor for females with high-grade ccRCC.

• Visceral fat measurement (rVFA) as an independent predictor for high-grade ccRCC had good predictive power in females, but not in males. • Sex-specific visceral fat composition was significantly associated with high-grade ccRCC in females only. • The rVFA could be considered one of the risk factors for high-grade ccRCC for females.

European radiology. 2020 Mar 06 [Epub ahead of print]

Zexuan Hu, Jialiang Wu, Shengsheng Lai, Yikai Xu, Jie Zhan, Ran Li, Xilong Liu, Ningning Wang, Xinhua Wei, Xinqing Jiang, Ruimeng Yang

Department of Radiology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, Guangdong, China., Department of Medical Devices, Guangdong Food and Drug Vocational College, Guangzhou, 510520, Guangdong, China., Department of Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, Guangdong, China., Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, Jiangxi, China., Department of Radiology, Army Medical Center of PLA, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400042, China., School of Public Health, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 511436, Guangdong, China., Department of Radiology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, Guangdong, China. .