ArticleThe oncologist2018
Higher Muscle Strength Is Associated with Prolonged Survival in Older Patients with Advanced Cancer.
Article in The oncologist, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Associations of fat and muscle mass with overall survival in men with prostate cancer: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Prostate cancer and prostatic diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Physical function predicts mortality in patients with cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Pooled it
- Resistance training in breast cancer patients undergoing primary treatment: a systematic review and meta-regression of exercise dosage.Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) · 2021Pooled it
- Associations of Physical Activity and Exercise with Health-related Outcomes in Patients with Melanoma During and After Treatment: A Systematic Review.Integrative cancer therapiesPooled it
- Trial
- Physical fitness and clinically assessed disease burden in long-term childhood cancer survivors-The SURfit study.Cancer · 2025Trial
- Changes in muscle performance among older adults with myeloid malignancies engaging in a mobile health (mHealth) exercise intervention: a single arm pilot study.BMC geriatrics · 2025Trial
- Feasibility of supervised telehealth exercise for patients with advanced melanoma receiving checkpoint inhibitor therapy.Cancer medicine · 2023Trial
- Impact on Health-Related Quality of Life of Parenteral Nutrition for Patients with Advanced Cancer Cachexia: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial.The oncologist · 2020Trial
- The impact of exercise on tolerability of systemic treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer: A literature review.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2026Review
- The relationship between sarcopenia and breast cancer: mechanistic pathways and clinical relevance.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- A prototype smartwatch for monitoring dynamic, compound and plyometric exercises in cancer prehabilitation: a development and validation study.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Sarcopenia and Cachexia in Older Patients with Cancer: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Impact on Outcomes, and Management Strategies.Drugs & aging · 2025Review
- Mitochondrial-targeted plastoquinone therapy prevents early onset muscle weakness that occurs before atrophy during ovarian cancer.Molecular metabolism · 2025Article
- Skeletal Muscle-Specific Deletion of E3 Ligase Asb2 Enhances Muscle Mass and Strength.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Knee strength balance ratios are not affected by aging among male runners.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- The efficacy of early progressive resistance exercise in the postoperative management of pancreaticoduodenectomy for pancreatic cancer: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in surgery · 2025Article
- Outcomes of physical exercises on initiation, progression, and treatment of breast cancer.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2024Review
- Hand grip strength as a proposed new vital sign of health: a narrative review of evidences.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2024Review
- Association of difficulties in daily physical activities and handgrip strength with cancer diagnoses in 65,980 European older adults.Aging clinical and experimental research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIdentifying predictors of treatment toxicity and overall survival (OS) is important for selecting patients who will benefit from chemotherapy. In younger patients with cancer, muscle mass and radiodensity are associated with treatment toxicity and OS. In this study, we investigated whether muscle mass, radiodensity, and strength were associated with treatment toxicity and OS in patients with advanced cancer aged 60 years or older. MATERIALS AND
methodsBefore starting palliative chemotherapy, muscle mass and radiodensity were assessed using computed tomography scans and muscle strength was assessed using a hydraulic hand grip dynamometer. Treatment toxicity was defined as any toxicity resulting in dose reduction and/or discontinuation of treatment. Multiple logistic and Cox regression analyses were performed to study potential associations of muscle mass, radiodensity, and strength with treatment toxicity and OS, respectively.
resultsThe participants were 103 patients, with a mean age of 70 years, with advanced colorectal, prostate, or breast cancer. Muscle parameters were not significantly associated with treatment toxicity. Higher muscle strength was associated with longer OS (hazard ratio 1.03; 95% confidence interval 1.00-1.05). Muscle mass and radiodensity were not significantly associated with OS.
conclusionHigher muscle strength at the start of palliative chemotherapy is associated with significantly better OS in older patients with advanced cancer. None of the investigated muscle parameters were related to treatment toxicity. Future studies are needed to evaluate whether muscle strength can be used for treatment decisions in older patients with advanced cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study in older patients with advanced cancer showed that adequate muscle strength is associated with longer overall survival. The results of this study imply that muscle strength might be helpful in estimating survival and therefore in identifying older patients who will benefit from anticancer treatment.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.