The emerging role of computerized tomography in assessing cancer cachexia.
OBJECTIVE
The present review represents an overview of the potential opportunistic use of computerized tomography (CT) to enhance our understanding of abnormal body composition, specifically lean and adipose tissue changes in cancer cachexia.


RESULTS
One of the characteristics of cancer cachexia is the depletion of muscle with or without adipose tissue loss. Therefore, a body composition tool that specifically distinguishes between these tissues is essential in assessing this syndrome. Cancer patients are routinely evaluated by high resolution imaging such as CT for the purpose of diagnosis and follow-up. Recent work exploiting CT images for body composition analysis has revealed the natural history of cancer cachexia, including progressive alterations in skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, organs, and tumor mass. CT-based quantification of skeletal muscle has permitted identification of individuals with sarcopenia, and links between sarcopenia and functional status, chemotherapy toxicity, time to tumor progression, and mortality.


CONCLUSIONS
CT images routinely acquired from health records of cancer patients can be used to quantify specific lean and adipose tissues, to interpret body composition in population-based studies, and to evaluate individual patients in a clinical and therapeutic decision-making setting.
Prado
Carla M M
CM
Department of Oncology, Division of Palliative Care Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Birdsell
Laura A
LA
Baracos
Vickie E
VE
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001823:Body Composition; D002100:Cachexia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D013851:Thinness / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed