Perioperative nutrition and sarcopenic cancer: a review

Article: Evolving concepts on perioperative nutrition of sarcopenic cancer patients

Perioperative care in cancer patients is being reconsidered with our understanding of the association of sarcopenia and post-operative complications risks. Generally, there exists very little literature regarding the perioperative care of sarcopenic cancer patients. It has, however, been found that sarcopenic patients had significantly higher complication rates than that of non-sarcopenic patients. Future research needs to continue to understand the reasons behind this. Perioperative cancer also needs to be understood within various degrees of sarcopenia, through stratifying the population by muscle depletion and reduced function levels. Although nutritional support alone cannot counteract these issues that sarcopenic patients face, this approach can aid in decreasing progressive muscle mass loss, potentially lowering the risk of post-operative complications.

This review by Bozzetti F aimed to understand the relationship between sarcopenia, muscle mass loss, and nutritional interventions.

Key learnings Research into nutritional approaches should not be viewed only through a perioperative lens for sarcopenic patients for whom post-operative complications are aiming to be reduced. This research can also apply to decreasing mortality rates and increasing progression-free survival for cancer patients. Overall, the value of nutritional approaches needs further research into its benefits to cancer patients.

Reviewed by: Z. Beketova

Authors: Bozzetti F.

Published in: Eur J Surg Oncol 2022