Sarcopenia is risk factor for prognosis of patients with biliopancreatic diseases.

The prevalence of sarcopenia tends to be high in patients with biliopancreatic disease. Sarcopenia is a risk factor of poor prognosis in patients with acute and chronic pancreatitis and biliary tract and pancreatic cancer. Several studies have suggested that sarcopenia may be a risk factor for perioperative complications and decreased recurrence-free or overall survival in patients with biliary tract and pancreatic cancer after surgery. Sarcopenia in biliary tract and pancreatic cancer may also increase chemotherapy-induced toxicities and worsen quality of life and survival in neoadjuvant or palliative chemotherapy. Moreover, sarcopenia is a risk factor for biliary stent occlusion in patients with malignant biliary obstruction, predictors of the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS-CPN) for pain relief, EUS-guided drainage, and endoscopic necrosectomy for walled-off necrosis (WON). Diagnosis of sarcopenia prior to the treatment of biliopancreatic diseases and endoscopy may predict treatment efficacy, and appropriate nutritional and exercise therapy improve therapeutic outcomes of patients with biliopancreatic diseases.