Research
Mixed
Sarcopenia (low skeletal muscle mass) and high total adipose tissue (TAT) measured by CT at diagnosis are independently associated with increased all-cause mortality in nonmetastatic breast cancer patients, whereas BMI is not significantly related to mortality.
For breast cancer patients, standard weight (BMI) is a poor predictor of survival. Instead, focus on preserving muscle mass and managing visceral fat through resistance training and nutrition, as measured by advanced imaging like CT, rather than just the scale.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Among patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer, those with sarcopenia showed higher overall mortality (HR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.18-1.69) compared with those without sarcopenia. Patients in the highest tertile of TAT also showed higher overall mortality (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.08-1.69) compared with those in the lowest tertile... BMI alone was not significantly related to overall mortality and did not appropriately identify patients at risk of death owing to their body composition.
Why this rating
Large observational cohort (n=3241) with long follow-up, but observational design limits causal inference.
Source
Association of Muscle and Adiposity Measured by Computed Tomography With Survival in Patients With Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer
Bette J. Caan et al. · JAMA Oncology · 2018
DOI 10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.0137
cohort · n=3241Cited 563×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
Related findings · Mixed
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