The following is a summary of “Association analysis between fatigue and body composition loss in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma during radiotherapy: An observational longitudinal study,” published in the May 2024 issue of Oncology by Song et al.
This study aimed to investigate the association between fatigue and weekly changes in body composition in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) undergoing radiotherapy and to identify the strength of these associations as independent factors.
Four body composition indexes (weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat rate, and lean body weight) and fatigue were assessed at baseline (T0) and weekly throughout radiotherapy (T1-T7). Generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were utilized to explore the trajectories and longitudinal relationships between fatigue and weekly changes in body composition. A marginal structural model (MSM) was employed to control for the effects of depression and anxiety.
In a cohort of 105 participants, fatigue trajectories peaked in the fifth week of radiotherapy, while changes in body composition were noticeable from the second week. The four body composition indexes positively associated with fatigue, weight, BMI, body fat rate, and lean body weight loss correlate significantly. The strength of these effects was heightened when controlling for anxiety and depression as time-dependent confounders. The positive associations were more pronounced in patients over 53 years of age, those with a senior high school education or higher, non-drinkers, individuals with a family income above 5,000 Y/month, those diagnosed at stage III or above, and those receiving a radiotherapy dose of 70 Gy or more, three or more cycles of induction chemotherapy, and one or fewer cycles of concurrent chemotherapy (CCRT).
The study found that weight loss, BMI, body fat rate, and lean body weight can independently evaluate the development of fatigue in patients with NPC during radiotherapy. Positive associations between fatigue and weekly body composition loss were identified in patients with specific demographic and clinical characteristics, suggesting that these factors could be crucial in managing fatigue during treatment.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167814024006108