title: Impact of sarcopenia on the prognosis and treatment toxicities in patients diagnosed with cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  High-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging routinely performed for cancer follow-up provides valuable information on body composition. The influence of body composition on outcomes and the occurrence of toxicities can therefore be explored in cancer patients. This review describes recent findings regarding the prognostic impact of skeletal muscle mass (SMM) on chemotherapy toxicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The higher risk of toxicity associated with low SMM (i.e. sarcopenia) was first described for 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy toxicity in colon cancer patients before being increasingly studied, not only in the case of body surface area-adapted chemotherapy in breast cancer but also in various cancers treated with targeted therapies. The underlying mechanisms are still being debated; sarcopenia could act on pharmacokinetic parameters and/or sarcopenic patients could be more susceptible to adverse medical events including chemotherapy toxicity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evidence for a strong link between sarcopenia and chemotherapy toxicity is increasing. SMM may not be the only body composition parameter involved. Muscle function assessed by measuring muscle density and the BMI could be of interest. The ultimate purpose is to better identify patients at higher risk of toxicity and to reduce toxicity through body composition-based dosing.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Ambulatory Care, Gustave Roussy bDepartment of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antoun
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Borget
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lanoy
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D055948:Sarcopenia / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents