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Dear colleagues,
 
The 16th international Conference of the Society on Cachexia, Sarcopenia & Muscle Wasting, will take place on 17-19 June 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden, under the guidance of Chairs of the SCWD, Professor Stefan Anker (Berlin, Germany) and Professor Gianluigi Savarese (Stockholm, Sweden).
 
To make sure the international community around the world keeps abreast with the latest advancements after the challenging COVID 19 pandemic and the recent events in Eastern Europe, the Board of the SCWD is determined to create the best possible
conditions for the cachexia and sarcopenia community to meet in person.
SCWD will also make sure highlights of the conference are accessible with virtual options to attend remotely via our digital interactive platform.
 
We hope to see you in Stockholm and look forward to working with you again to continue the tradition of a mutually rewarding and intellectually stimulating SCWD conference!
 
Best regards,
Prof. Stefan Anker (President, SCWD) and Gianluigi Savarese

From the literature

Appetite loss, malnutrition, and mortality: a significant association in need of urgent recognition?

Despite its high prevalence among older adults, appetite loss is underrecognized in clinical practice. Explanations for this underrecognition include the lack of uniform terminology for the condition paired with an absence of defined, standardised approaches to assessing it. Moreover, appetite loss is commonly misconstrued as a normal and irreversible part of the ageing process. Together, these reasons create heterogeneity across anorexia of ageing studies, thereby hindering the recognition and management of appetite loss among older adults. To overcome this gap, a better understanding of appetite loss’ effects on morbidity and mortality in older adults is needed.

This systematic literature review aimed to investigate the relationship between appetite loss and negative outcomes in older adults aged ≥ 65 years.

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Sarcopenia and its prognostic value in advanced gastroesophageal cancer

Esophageal, gastroesophageal, and gastric cancers make up a significant proportion of the global cancer burden. Associated with a poor prognosis and 5-year survival rate, up to half of patients present with an advanced stage of disease upon diagnosis, hindering the success of curative treatments. Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT) is a standard test with great diagnostic and prognostic value amongst patients with esophageal, gastroesophageal, and gastric cancers. Its inclusion of computed tomography facilitates the assessment of skeletal muscle, and thus, sarcopenia, in this patient population. Although sarcopenia has been shown to influence postoperative complications, its prognostic value for patients with advanced disease has not yet been characterised.

The aim of this study was to ascertain the prognostic value sarcopenia measurements and metabolic activity parameters of primary gastroesophageal cancer in patients with advanced metastatic disease.

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Metabolic dysfunction and candidate biomarkers: an overview of anorexia of ageing

Anorexia of ageing is characterised by an age-associated reduction in appetite and food intake. With a prevalence of 20% in older adults, this syndrome may engender malnutrition and metabolic impairments, both of which are associated with increased negative health outcomes. Indeed, elderly individuals with anorexia of ageing possess higher risks of sarcopenia, disability, hospitalisation, and mortality. Importantly, malnutrition has also been identified as a major risk factor for frailty.

This article aims to summarise the state of research on anorexia of ageing in the context of age-related metabolic changes, with a focus on its candidate biomarkers.

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Cancer cachexia risk score for digestive tract cancer: a review

Cancer cachexia, a form of malnutrition, can be viewed as a determinant of prognosis. However, there are no effective therapies or treatments for this condition. Hence, the identification of high-risk patients remains crucial for the assessment and management of cancer cachexia. The cancer cachexia risk score was validated to show good performance; it successfully identified at-risk digestive tract cancer patients before abdominal surgery. This risk score can provide vital help to clinicians in their cancer cachexia screening process, allowing them to understand a patient’s prognosis and build better-informed decisions for abdominal surgery.
This review by Tan S et al. aimed to discuss the cancer cachexia risk score in relation to digestive tract cancer patients, to understand whether survival risks can be identified prior to surgery.

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