termsTerm
Sarcopenia
aka Low muscle mass, Myopenia
Sarcopenia is loss of muscle mass and strength. In cancer it predicts worse chemotherapy side-effects, more surgical complications and shorter survival, and it can hide in people who look a normal weight or overweight.
Defined by low skeletal muscle mass (commonly the skeletal muscle index at the L3 vertebra on CT) with or without low strength or performance. Sarcopenic obesity, low muscle with high fat, carries the worst prognosis. Because muscle rather than total weight determines the clearance of many cytotoxics, sarcopenic patients dosed by body surface area are effectively overdosed. Automated CT segmentation makes opportunistic measurement feasible.
Category
Nutrition & lifestyle