Department of Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Hubei Key Laboratory of Tumor Biological Behaviors and Hubei Cancer Clinical Study Center, Wuhan 430071, Hubei, China
Abstract：Sarcopenia is a clinic syndrome mainly characterized by skeleton muscle mass and function loss, which is common in the elderly, malnutrition, chronic inflammation and cancer. Malnutrition and sarcopenia are common in cancer patients, especially in gastrointestinal tumors. This paper was to investigate the incidence of sarcopenia and the influences of sarcopenia on treatment-related side effects and prognosis, further to clarify its clinical significances in gastrointestinal cancer patients. Key words such as “sarcopenia” and “cancer” were reviewed in “CNKI” and “Pubmed” databases. The results suggested that, firstly, sarcopenia was prevalent in gastrointestinal cancer, however, diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia were variable, and the standard diagnostic criterion for sarcopenia should include muscle mass assessment and functional status assessment. Secondly, sarcopenia had negative impact on tolerance to treatment and prognosis, including higher risk of severe chemotherapeutic toxicity, more surgical complications, longer length of stay in hospital and shorter survival. In conclusion, the assessment of sarcopenia is essential in gastrointestinal cancer patients, and may become an important means to predict the clinical outcomes of gastrointestinal cancer. Otherwise, it also suggest that clinical intervention on sarcopenia is of great significance.
