Background/Objectives: Sarcopenia, defined as the progressive loss of muscle mass and function, is increasingly recognized in pediatric cancer patients as a significant clinical and prognostic factor. Sarcopenia in children arises from malignancy-related inflammation, malnutrition, and treatment toxicity, negatively affecting treatment response, recovery, and quality of life. Methods: We searched MEDLINE and Scopus for English-written articles published over the last five years using synonyms for the terms “sarcopenia” and “pediatric cancer”. Screening and data extraction were performed in a duplicate-blinded method. We qualitatively synthesized eligible articles. Results: Recent studies identify pre-treatment sarcopenia as a marker of poor prognosis, especially in hepatoblastoma and neuroblastoma. Total psoas muscle area (tax) and skeletal muscle index (SMI) are emerging diagnostic tools, though standardized methods remain lacking. Sarcopenia’s etiology is multifactorial, involving impaired mitochondrial metabolism, chemotherapy-induced appetite loss, and systemic inflammation. Sarcopenic obesity is common, particularly among leukemia survivors, often masked by normal BMI. Survivors also face reduced bone density, impaired immunity, and persistent muscle loss, linked to prior therapies such as radiotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Increase in muscle mass post-treatment correlates with better survival outcomes. Conclusions: Early detection of sarcopenia can support timely interventions such as nutritional support and physical activity. Yet, significant diagnostic heterogeneity across existing studies hampers definitive conclusions regarding its true prevalence and the optimal assessment method. Standardized diagnostic criteria are urgently needed to enable more reliable prevalence estimates and evidence-based clinical strategies.
背景/目的：肌肉减少症，即进行性肌肉质量和功能丧失，在儿科癌症患者中日益被视为重要的临床和预后因素。儿童肌肉减少症源于恶性肿瘤相关炎症、营养不良及治疗毒性，对治疗反应、恢复及生活质量产生负面影响。方法：我们在MEDLINE和Scopus数据库中检索了过去五年发表的英文文献，使用“肌肉减少症”和“儿科癌症”的同义词进行检索。采用双盲法进行筛选和数据提取，并对符合条件的研究进行定性综合。结果：近期研究证实治疗前肌肉减少症是不良预后的标志，尤其在肝母细胞瘤和神经母细胞瘤中。腰大肌总面积（TPA）和骨骼肌指数（SMI）正成为新兴诊断工具，但标准化方法仍待完善。该病症的病因具有多因素性，涉及线粒体代谢受损、化疗诱导的食欲减退及全身性炎症。肌肉减少性肥胖较为常见，尤其在白血病幸存者中，常被正常体重指数所掩盖。幸存者还面临骨密度降低、免疫功能受损及持续性肌肉流失等问题，这与既往放疗和造血干细胞移植等治疗相关。治疗后肌肉质量的增加与更好的生存结局相关。结论：早期发现肌肉减少症有助于及时采取营养支持和体力活动等干预措施。然而，现有研究间显著的诊断异质性阻碍了对其真实患病率和最佳评估方法的明确结论。亟需建立标准化诊断标准，以实现更可靠的患病率评估和循证临床策略制定。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家