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New analysis from the Train Drugs Analysis Institute at Edith Cowan College (ECU) has highlighted that youngsters present process most cancers therapy typically lose skeletal muscle at a time when they need to be quickly gaining it, a loss that might enhance therapy problems and lift the danger of long-term well being issues.
The findings are printed within the European Journal of Pediatrics.
“Both the cancer itself and the cancer treatment can cause muscle loss in children,” mentioned ECU Ph.D. pupil Anna Maria Markarian.
“Muscle is the body’s metabolic reserve. When children lose muscle during treatment, they tolerate chemotherapy less well and face a higher risk of complications from drug toxicity.”
Dropping muscle additionally makes youngsters and adolescents extra susceptible to coronary heart and metabolic issues similar to excessive blood sugar and insulin resistance, Ms. Markarian mentioned.
“For example, during the onset of puberty, children gain 3 kg to 5 kg of muscle per year. If treatment interrupts this growth and it isn’t recovered afterwards, it can severely impact health outcomes in the longer term.”
The analysis additionally discovered that youngsters present process most cancers therapy are more likely to expertise will increase in fats mass, which might additional contribute to metabolic issues and enhance the danger of heart-related points.
“Weight just isn’t the entire story. Two youngsters can weigh the identical, one with wholesome muscle, one with extra fats, and their capacity to tolerate chemotherapy may very well be very completely different.
“The challenge here is differentiating between muscle loss and fat gain, as this could have important clinical implications. Shifts in body composition can create a mismatch between dosing assumptions and actual metabolic capacity, heightening the risk of treatment-related complications and poorer clinical outcomes in patients with diminished skeletal muscle mass,” Ms. Markarian mentioned.
The message for fogeys is straightforward: maintain youngsters transferring. Encourage age-appropriate energetic play and train, regardless of the apparent difficulties that will be related to that.
Extra data:
Anna Maria Markarian et al, Longitudinal adjustments in skeletal muscle in youngsters present process most cancers therapy: a scientific overview and meta-analysis, European Journal of Pediatrics (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s00431-025-06349-5
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Edith Cowan College
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Kids lose muscle throughout early most cancers therapy: Examine warns of a hidden hazard to restoration (2025, September 10)
retrieved 10 September 2025
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