Muscoloskeletal aging, sarcopenia and cancer

In the context of the management of the elderly patient with cancer, currently, a key topic may be expressed by sarcopenia. Sarcopenia in its various definitions and ambiguities in the older adult is always related to negative outcomes. A close correlation between sarcopenia and adverse outcomes such as treatment response or toxicity has also been shown in the patient with cancer. For these reasons, it becomes increasingly important to try to understand and therefore differentiate conditions such as the loss of muscle mass linked to normal aging, an independent pathological condition such as sarcopenia and finally a sometimes confusing pathologic condition called cachexia.