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Sarcopenia in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Michela Roberto, G. Barchiesi, B. Resuli, M. Verrico, Iolanda Speranza, Leonardo Cristofani, F. Pediconi, Federica Tomao et al.

Cancers, 2024

6,130 participants · 43 citations

Abstract

Simple Summary The evaluation of additional body composition measures, such as visceral adipose tissue area, subcutaneous adipose tissue area, and sarcopenic obesity, could be useful to improve our understanding of the prognostic role of body composition parameters in women with breast cancer. The aim of our review was to summarize current evidence about sarcopenia in non-metastatic as well as metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and to identify any correlation between sarcopenia and patient outcomes. We observed a correlation between sarcopenia and significantly higher rates of treatment-related toxicities in both settings (metastatic and non-metastatic) compared with patients without sarcopenia. It was found that sarcopenic patients were more likely to deal with severe toxicities compared to patients classified as non-sarcopenic. This finding suggests that sarcopenia recently emerged as a new condition that, independently from malnutrition, may adversely affect patient outcomes and may be used as a reference for chemotherapy dose selection to better balance individual pharmacokinetic differences. Abstract (1) Background: We estimated the prevalence and clinical outcomes of sarcopenia among breast cancer patients. (2) Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out for the period between July 2023 and October 2023. Studies with breast cancer patients evaluated for sarcopenia in relation to overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), relapse of disease (DFS),…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 6,130 participants or records.

How the five levels of evidence work. The level is assigned automatically from the abstract and can be wrong, so check the paper.

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