Accurate estimation of skeletal muscle mass by comparison of computed tomographic images of the third lumbar and third cervical vertebrae in Japanese patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

The estimation of CSA at the L3 from the existing prediction formula with the CSA at the C3 had no systematic biases, but it did have random errors. Random errors resulted from measurement errors and biological variation. Usefulness of the existing formula is limited by physical differences in populations.