Journal of Clinical Oncology & Advanced Therapy

Abstract

Background: Changes in body composition during chemotherapy can adversely affect the prognosis of can cer patients. To evaluate these changes, a case-control study was conducted in the cobalt therapy departments of Douala General Hospital. The primary objective was to assess the impact of chemotherapy and disease stage on body composition changes in women with breast or cervical cancer treated at the hospital’s oncology unit.

Methods: Muscle mass, body fat, and body water percentages were measured using the bioelectrical imped ance analysis (BIA) method, and blood samples were collected to determine albumin and creatinine concen trations. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 for Windows (SPSS, IBM, Chicago, IL, USA).

Results: The study revealed that the mean age of breast cancer (BC) patients was 44.62±11.23 years, cervical cancer (CC) patients 50.37±10.78 years, and controls 46.11±10.43 years. Muscle mass, body fat, and body water percentages significantly decreased in cancer patients compared to controls (p=0.0028, p=0.004, and p=0.004, respectively). In BC patients, muscle mass significantly declined between stages 1 and 2 (p=0.001), while no significant changes were observed in CC patients (p=0.84). Body fat and body water percentages did not significantly change between stages 1 and 2 for either cancer type. Metabolically, creatinine levels were significantly elevated (p=0.55)

Conclusion: Chemotherapy leads to significant changes in body composition and metabolic profiles in ear ly-stage breast and cervical cancer patients, emphasizing the need for regular monitoring during treatment.