[Sarcopenia: a concept of growing importance in the management of colorectal cancer]

Abstract

Malnutrition in digestive oncology affects quality of life, increases postoperative complication rates, and results in increased chemotherapy toxicity and reduced survival. Loss of skeletal muscle or sarcopenia is not correlated to body mass index, and might play a major role in the complications of malnutrition in oncology. The diagnosis of sarcopenia can be made on routinely available CT scanner images using consensual cutoff numbers. Lean body mass may be useful in normalizing the doses of hydrophilic chemotherapy drugs, such as fluoropyrimidines. To date, neither nutritional intervention nor specific drugs have proven useful in preventing or treating sarcopenia in cancer patients.