Generic placeholder image

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1871-5206
ISSN (Online): 1875-5992

Assessment of Nutritional Status in Cancer – The Relationship Between Body Composition and Pharmacokinetics

Author(s): Carla M. M. Prado, Yara L. M. Maia, Michael Ormsbee, Michael B. Sawyer and Vickie E. Baracos

Volume 13, Issue 8, 2013

Page: [1197 - 1203] Pages: 7

DOI: 10.2174/18715206113139990322

Price: $65

Abstract

Several nutritional assessment tools have been used in oncology settings to monitor nutritional status and its associated prognostic significance. Body composition is fundamental for the assessment of nutritional status. Recently, the use of accurate and precise body composition tools has significantly added to the value of nutritional assessment in this clinical setting. Computerized tomography (CT) is an example of a technique which provides state-of-the-art assessment of body composition. With use of CT images, a great variability in body composition of cancer patients has been identified even in people with identical body weight or body mass index. Severe muscle depletion (sarcopenia) has emerged as a prevalent body composition phenotype which is predictive of poor functional status, shorter time to tumor progression, shorter survival, and higher incidence of dose-limiting toxicity. Variability in body composition of cancer patients may be a source of disparities in the metabolism of cytotoxic agents. Future clinical trials investigating dose reductions in patients with sarcopenia and dose-escalating studies based on pre-treatment body composition assessment have the potential to alter cancer treatment paradigms.

Keywords: Body composition, cancer, cancer prognosis, chemotherapy treatment, nutritional assessment, nutritional status, pharmacokinetics.


Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy