Sarcopenia, nutritional intakes and outcomes in stem cell transplant
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Prospective investigation into the prevalence of sarcopenia and changes in body composition in patients with haematopoietic cancers undergoing stem cell transplantation and associations with nutritional intake and transplant outcomes
IRAS ID
169253
Contact name
Julie Beckerson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Sarcopenia is a syndrome of muscle loss and weakness. It is well studied in older people and some solid tumours but few studies report on sarcopenia and blood cancer. In older people it is associated with physical disability, poor quality of life and death. In solid tumour patients it is associated with poorer functional status, decreased survival and treatment complications such as chemotherapy toxicity.
Patients receiving stem cell transplants (SCT) for blood cancers receive very high doses of chemotherapy. This can cause severe side effects that affect the ability to eat and drink resulting in weight loss. Sarcopenia can occur in people with an apparently normal weight and body mass index. Identification of sarcopenia prior to SCT could highlight patients likely to experience more severe side effects and rapidly decline, allowing us to better manage these individuals.
This prospective study aims to measure muscle mass, strength and function to determine the presence of sarcopenia in people undergoing SCT. This will also allow us to look in more detail at body composition. Data will provide a greater understanding of patient’s nutritional status and changes that happen during treatment. We will measure these variables again at 3 and 6 weeks to see if having an SCT has changed the incidence sarcopenia. We plan to recruit 50 people, aged = 18 years, over a 9 months period, having transplants at Hammersmith Hospital.
We will also assess the amount and adequacy of patients’ nutritional intake after SCT to investigate whether this has an effect on the development of sarcopenia. We will record information on outcomes of SCT such as bone marrow recovery, length of stay, intensive care visits and mortality to determine if being sarcopenic is associated with poorer treatment outcomes.REC name
South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0104
Date of REC Opinion
11 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion