Decreased Muscle Mass Linked with Higher Toxicity, Poorer Prognosis Risk in Colon Cancer

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Decreased muscle mass is associated with an increased risk of grade 3/4 toxicity and poorer prognosis in patients with stage 3 colon cancer, according to a recent study published in Supportive Care in Cancer.

Korean researchers led by Hee-Won Jung, MD, at the Seoul National University College of Medicine examined data on 229 patients with stage 3 colon cancer who received adjuvant oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and leucovorin chemotherapy from 2003 to 2010, measuring for effects of muscle mass on toxicity and survival. Median age was 61 years and 134 patients were male.

The researchers found that decrease in muscle mass was associated with increased toxicity in all grade 3/4 cancers in univariate and multivariate analyses.

In multivariate analysis alone, they found that an incremental decrease in muscle mass index increased the hazard of overall mortality.

The effect was further confirmed in subgroup analyses and it was further pronounced in patients who were older and obese.