Characterization of body composition dynamics throughout treatment in patients with early-stage breast cancer - PubMed
5 hours ago
- #cancer cachexia
- #breast cancer
- #body composition
- The study used CT scans to analyze body composition changes in women with early-stage, non-metastatic breast cancer (BC) compared to healthy women and lung cancer patients.
- Longitudinal analysis revealed two phenotypes: most patients (63%) showed stable muscle mass but internal compositional shifts, while a cachectic group (37%) experienced loss of both muscle and adipose tissue.
- A key finding was that 84% of BC patients experienced clinically relevant declines in muscle quantity or quality, even in the absence of significant weight loss.
- The research suggests conventional definitions of cancer cachexia may miss important tissue remodeling in early-stage breast cancer.
- CT-based body composition phenotyping could improve risk stratification and guide supportive care interventions for cancer patients.