Some patients diagnosed with malignant hematological diseases are faced with poor prognosis and thus must undergo a demanding course of treatment associated with severe deconditioning potentially leading to worse prognostic outcomes. It is currently not well-described, to what extend patients body composition at the point of diagnoses should be part of standard clinical evaluation in order to optimize therapy-efficacy. Recent findings suggest that pathophysiological alterations in skeletal muscle mass and function can have significant implications for the risk of disease progression and long-term prognosis.
PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence and prognostic value of sarcopenia in patients diagnosed with hematological cancer diseases.