From the Research
Muscle Mass Percentage in Cancer Survivors
- The prevalence of low muscle mass in cancer patients varies widely across several studies, making it challenging to determine a specific muscle mass percentage for cancer survivors 1.
- Research suggests that low muscle mass is associated with poor outcomes in patients with solid malignancies, but the exact prognostic value of low muscle mass in diverse tumor types and stages is still unclear 1, 2.
- A systematic review found that there is insufficient evidence to associate low muscle mass with overall survival in patients with incurable cancer, highlighting the need for further research in this area 2.
- Studies have shown that resistance training can counteract the loss of muscle mass in cancer patients, with supervised training displaying a mediating role 3.
- Muscle loss in advanced cancer is related to age, sex, tumor type, and inflammation, with patients above median age and those with pancreatic cancer having less muscle mass 4.
- Increases in adipose tissue and muscle function have been longitudinally associated with better quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors, highlighting the importance of restoring body tissues after cancer treatment 5.