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Mesothelioma and Weight Loss

Key takeaways: Mesothelioma is associated with weight loss–both as a symptom and side effect of care. Studies have found that weight loss and decreased skeletal muscle mass are associated with a decreased patient prognosis and quality of life.

Mesothelioma and Weight Loss – Symptoms

Unexplained weight loss is an established symptom of all forms of mesothelioma–including peritoneal (within the abdomen), pleural (around the lungs), pericardial (around the heart), and tunica vaginalis (around the testes). While it feels intuitive that only tumors in the abdomen cause significant weight loss, this isn’t true! 40% of all cancer patients had unexplained weight loss prior to their diagnosis, which was their first red flag that something wasn’t right. This significant weight loss occurs because cancerous cells require a significant amount of energy: a characteristic of malignant cancers is their unchecked cellular growth and utilization of the body’s materials. So, mesothelioma tumors shunt the body’s nutrients, blood, oxygen, and cellular processes away from healthy cells and towards the tumors. By effect, the healthy cells struggle to compete with the relatively stronger and more demanding cancer cells. While this phenomenon is true of most aggressive cancers, it is especially pertinent in mesothelioma patients.

 

Weight Loss as a Side Effect

While unexplained weight loss is a symptom of mesothelioma, it is also a side effect of chemotherapy and other radical treatment plans. This can be for a variety of reasons: the treatment plan leaves patients feeling weak, emotionally demoralized, with a change in appetite, or with impaired senses. Some chemotherapies also result in mouth sores, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, and a more general disruption of healthy digestion. There are a variety of reasons that treatment results in weight loss. Another stipulation about mesothelioma specifically: because the median age of diagnosis is 72, patients are already feeling the normal effects of aging, including a slight decline in muscle mass. This is important for imagining the future of different treatment plans that accounts for the demographic of people affected.

 

Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Case Study

A recent study conducted in 2019 sought to analyze the body compositions of a group of mesothelioma patients. There were 61 people recruited (with the median age being 69 and median BMI [body mass index] being 25.8). The researchers found that 54% of patients were pre-sarcopenic, or were on the verge of losing significant amounts of skeletal muscle mass. (Importantly, sarcopenia is being studied as a mortality risk factor in cancer patients. This is a significant wasting away of voluntary muscles, usually associated with the aging process but exacerbated by cancer. The results of the studies are synonymous: decreased muscle mass is significantly associated with decreased prognosis in cancer patients.) 38% of patients in the same study fell under the category of “malnourished.” When grouped together, 92% of these mesothelioma patients had a problem with maintaining a healthy body weight. While the researchers partially attributed this to prior life choices–like activity level and diet–a mesothelioma diagnosis amplified the effects of those choices. For future studies, it might be useful to gauge the effects of intentional efforts to increase a patient’s body mass. Perhaps they might have an increased prognosis, or their quality of life increases during treatment. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please call The Halpern Law Firm at (800) 505-6000. We are here to help you navigate the legal process of filing a claim to receive compensation for your cancer diagnosis. We help mesothelioma victims and their families in Pennsylvania.
Sources:
Anjanappa, M., Corden, M., Green, A., Roberts, D., Hoskin, P., McWilliam, A., & Choudhury, A. (2020). Sarcopenia in cancer: Risking more than muscle loss. Technical Innovations & Patient Support in Radiation Oncology, 16, 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tipsro.2020.10.001
Jeffery, E., Lee, Y. C. G., Newton, R. U., Lyons-Wall, P., McVeigh, J., Nowak, A. K., Cheah, H. M., Nguyen, B., Fitzgerald, D. B., Creaney, J., Straker, L., & Peddle-McIntyre, C. J. (2019). Body composition and nutritional status in malignant pleural mesothelioma: Implications for activity levels and quality of life. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 73(10), Article 10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0418-9 Signs and Symptoms of Mesothelioma. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2024, from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/malignant-mesothelioma/detection-diagnosis-stagi ng/signs-symptoms.html Weight Loss. (2012, February 13). Cancer.Net. https://www.cancer.net/coping-with-cancer/physical-emotional-and-social-effects-cance r/managing-physical-side-effects/weight-loss Written By Carina Filemyr

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