Lean body mass and low muscle mass are associated with survival, quality of life (QOL), and tolerance to treatment in cancer patients. Most early breast cancer patients were reported in overweight and obese nutrition status. There is still limited data evaluating the relationship between muscle mass and QOL in breast cancer patients, especially in early stages. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between muscle mass and QOL domain in breast cancer patients before underwent chemotherapy.
A total of 80 breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. Women breast cancer patients before they underwent chemotherapy were included in this study. Skeletal muscle mass was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis, and it was reported as the Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI). QoL was assessed using the EORTC-QLQ-C30. The correlation between SMI and QOL was evaluated using Pearson or Spearmen correlation test based on the normality data.
The mean of age was 47.39+7.07 years old. The median of body mass index (BMI) was 23.15(7.86-47.26) kg/m2. The distribution of BMI for underweight, normo-weight, overweight and obese were 5(6.3%); 33(41.3%); 16(21.1%); and 26(32.6%), respectively. Most patients were in early breast cancer 71 of 80 (88.8%). The median of SMI was 5.72(1.91-12.35). The median of QOL global health status, physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function, and social function domain were 66.67(0-100); 93.33(0-133.33); 100(0-133.33); 83.33(33.33-100); 100(16.67-100); and 100(0-100), respectively. The correlation between SMI and QOL global health status, physical function, role function, emotional function, cognitive function, and social function domain were (r 0.194, p 0.085); (r 0.021, p 0.851); (r 0.009, p 0.939); (r 0.061, p 0.588); (r 0.280, p 0.012); and (r 0.078, p 0.490), respectively.
Almost all QOL domains of breast cancer patients before underwent chemotherapy showed good results. The relationship between muscle mass and QOL in breast cancer patients before underwent chemotherapy only showed in the cognitive domain. Further studies need to be done to evaluate the physical activity and protein consumption practice with QoL.
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All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.