ONCOLOGY

Provide earlier intervention strategies

for the prevention of disease progression

Why is body composition analysis

an effective tool for Cancer Treatment?

Disclaimer: InBody devices should be used as an adjunct tool for clinical decision making and are not intended to diagnose or treat any diseases.​
InBody devices provide a quick, easy, non-invasive, and precise method for assessing health risks and the effects of interventions. In less than 60 seconds, the InBody Test can be used to see:

  • Phase Angle – Predicting survival rate of cancer patients
  • ECW Ratio – Preventive treatment for side effects of chemotherapy
  • Sarcopenia – lowers the survival rate of the elderly after cancer treatment, and increases the risk of complications
WHOLE BODY PHASE ANGLE

Track effect of immunotherapies by monitoring cell health

Cancer and cancer treatments cause damage to cells, compromising immune function and reducing cellular integrity. ​By tracking phase angle, oncologists can monitor the cellular health of patients for earlier detection of symptoms/disease progression.​

Phase angle, a measure of how the cells respond to the electrical currents used to measure body composition, reflects cell membrane integrity and has been linked to survival in various oncological populations. ​When cells are healthy, they are better able to resists these currents utilized by the InBody, resulting in a higher phase angle. ​Because cancer and various treatment modalities cause damage to the cells before the loss of muscle and fat mass, the decrease in phase angle can be linked to cancer cachexia related to malnutrition as well as other medical risks/conditions. By monitoring segmental and whole body phase angle, oncologists can pinpoint the risk of specific comorbidities, track the effects of immunotherapies more precisely, and provide earlier intervention strategies for the prevention of disease progression.

WHOLE BODY AND SEGMENTAL ECW RATIO ANALYSIS

Identify localized fluid to detect cancer related circulation issues

Cancer leads to muscle loss and compromises organs and cellular functions that can lead to systematic inflammation or edema. ​InBody’s technology is able to precisely track fluid changes across the body to understand the cause of imbalanced fluid levels.​

InBody effectively distinguishes water in the intracellular (ICW; within the tissues) and extracellular (ECW; within the blood and interstitial fluids) compartments that make up total body water (TBW), can be used to distinguish fluid imbalances resulting from malnutrition or edema. Managing increases in Edema index is a priority for improving patient outcomes

Due to the high water content of muscles, loss of muscle mass causes a reduction in ICW and results in an increased Edema Index. Thus the Edema Index can be used to identify malnutrition separately from other disease-related fluid imbalances. ​

Since cancer symptoms are associated with increased systematic inflammation, progressing fluid imbalances are linked to poor patient outcomes. The Edema Index can be used to identify and monitor long-term fluid retention, which causes cellular stress and may lead to comorbidities such as renal or cardiac dysfunction. By tracking whole body ECW/TBW, efficacy of anti-inflammatory drugs can be assess and used to guide clinical decisions. Additionally, segmental Edema Index scores are important for identifying localized fluid imbalances in the limbs or trunk, aiding in the earlier detection of cancer related lymphedema or circulation issues. ​

MUSCLE–FAT ANALYSIS

Set strategies to promote muscle maintenance

Disease onset and progression can cause changes in body composition despite weight maintenance, which would be overlooked by BMI. Assessing muscle-fat balance allows medical professionals to monitor the effects of treatment to prevent worsening outcomes.

Cancer patients often experience significant changes in body composition, namely muscle loss, fat gain, or a combination of these factors. When these occur simultaneously, weight may not change significantly, making BMI a poor indicator of physiological change. By monitoring objective measures of muscle and fat mass, medical professionals can assess physiological changes and symptoms associated with malnutrition and cancer cachexia. Additional outputs of basal metabolic rate (BMR) aid nutritionists in setting strategies to promote muscle maintenance and management of fat gain/loss. Tracking the outcomes of these programs provides oncologists with the tools to provide more direct treatment strategies to improve quality of life and patient outcomes. ​

ACTUAL CASE

Case 1

Tall : 168cm

Age : 61 years old

Weight : 53.4kg

Gender : Male

Note: Terminal stage pancreatic cancer patient, and has metastasized to other organs. Surgical treatment is impossible that radiation and chemotherapy is done. ​

The Phase Angle was 1.8, highly severe (less than PhA 2.0 indicates negative life expectancy), and the ECW/TBW was 0.453. It indicates that the cell membrane integrity was degraded due to severe edema.

ACTUAL CASE

Case 2

Tall : 160cm

Age : 65 years old

Weight : 62.0kg

Gender : Male

Note: A patient who had the onset of liver cancer for about 2 years that showed edema and ascites. ​

In the case of ascites from liver cancer, ascites needs to be removed, and albumin, diuretics are prescribed. Water intake is controlled together as the water control is important in these patients. Ascites, and fluid status can be monitored with ECW Ratio.

Develop more effective

treatment and prevention

ACTUAL CASE

Case 3

Tall : 165cm

Age : 62 years old

Weight : 63.0kg

Gender : Female

Note: This is a patient whose body fat has increased due to decreased activity due to breast cancer surgery. Weight management is essential to prevent recurrence after surgery and treatment. As well as BMI before diagnosis of breast cancer, BMI within 1 year after diagnosis, and BMI after diagnosis 1 year after diagnosis are also found to be associated with an increase in mortality. Active body fat, weight management is required.

Develop more effective

treatment and prevention

ARTICLE

Phase Angle is a predictor of survival for advanced cancer with palliative care.

“Average Phase Angle (50kHz) was 4.4º in patients who survived for 250 days. And lower phase angle was significantly associated with a poor survival”

Among 366 advanced cancer patients who received palliative care consultations, the median Phase Angle was 4.4 at 50kHz, and overall survival was 250days. PhA remained independent associated with overall survival even after adjusting for cancer type, performance status, weight loss, and inflammatory markers.

Hui, David, et al. “Association between multi-frequency phase angle and survival in patients with advanced cancer.” Journal of pain and symptom management 53.3 (2017): 571-577.

Contact us

We’d love to hear from you.
Use the form below to send us a message!