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Prevalence and related factors of sarcopenia in newly diagnosed cancer patients

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Abstract

Introduction

Sarcopenia is defined as the loss of muscle mass and muscular functioning. Although sarcopenia prevalence is highly variable in the literature, pre-chemotherapy sarcopenia prevalence was not well studied in newly diagnosed cancer patients. In this context, the present study aims to determine the prevalence of sarcopenia and its related factors in this population.

Material and methods

Prospectively, newly diagnosed cancer patients were evaluated for body composition measurement and muscle strength by employing the bioelectric impedance analysis method and handgrip dynamometer tool.

Results

A total of 461 patients were included in the study. The median age of patients was 59 years (range 18–83) and 258 patients (56%) were women. Sarcopenia was present in 77 patients (16.7%) and was at significantly higher frequencies in men (p = 0.015), advanced age (≥ 65 years, p = 0.014), lower body mass index (BMI < 25, p = < 0.001), and poor performance status (ECOG status > 0, p = 0.026). In multivariate analyses, advanced age (over 65 years), gender (men), and lower body mass index (BMI < 25) were significantly associated with sarcopenia (p values 0.033, < 0.001, and < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusions

Our study is the first prevalence study conducted with bioelectric impedance analysis on Turkish cancer patients and sarcopenia was detected to be notably prevalent among our patients with newly diagnosed cancer. Given the likely negative outcomes of sarcopenia reported in the literature (treatment failure, increased complications, and impaired survival), it is important to know the presence of sarcopenia before treatment and take preventive precautions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from the friends of Yasemin Payam, Betul Akdogan, Oksan Kacmaz, and Songul Uluc Ozaltaş.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Ataturk Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey

    Utku Oflazoglu, Ahmet Alacacioglu, Umut Varol, Yuksel Kucukzeybek, Tarik Salman, Halil Taskaynatan, Yasar Yildiz & Ozlem Ozdemir

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Institute of Oncology, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

    MustafaOktay Tarhan

Authors
  1. Utku Oflazoglu
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  2. Ahmet Alacacioglu
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  3. Umut Varol
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  4. Yuksel Kucukzeybek
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  5. Tarik Salman
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  6. Halil Taskaynatan
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  7. Yasar Yildiz
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  8. Ozlem Ozdemir
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  9. MustafaOktay Tarhan
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Contributions

Study concept: A Alacacioglu and U Oflazoglu. Study design: U Oflazoglu and A Alacacioglu. Data acquisition: U Oflazoglu, Y Yildiz, and H Taskaynatan. Quality control of data: U Oflazoglu, A Alacacioglu, and Y Yildiz. Data analysis and interpretation: U Oflazoglu and A Alacacioglu. Statistical analysis: U Oflazoglu and A Alacacioglu. Manuscript preparation: U Oflazoglu and U Varol. Manuscript editing: U Varol, H Taskaynatan, and T Salman. Manuscript review: U Varol, H Taskaynatan, Y Kucukzeybek, T Salman, and MO Tarhan.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Utku Oflazoglu.

Ethics declarations

All patients provided written informed consent to participate in the study. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Izmir Katip Celebi University.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Oflazoglu, U., Alacacioglu, A., Varol, U. et al. Prevalence and related factors of sarcopenia in newly diagnosed cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 28, 837–843 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04880-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-019-04880-4

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