Grant Williams on the Effects of Losing Muscle Mass During Cancer Treatment

Grant Williams, MD, clinical instructor and research fellow at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, discusses the impact that losing skeletal muscle mass has on elderly patients with cancer.

For all patients with cancer, losses in muscle mass can lead to an increased risk for toxicity, overall complications, and even death. Be it from cancer treatment or other health factors, Williams said that it is important that researchers work on better defining these muscular issues so that interventions, such as nutrition, exercise, and treatment changes, can be implemented to give patients the best possible prognosis.