Integrating Medical Imaging and Health Records to Understand Detrimental Changes Metabolism Body Composition Cancer Patients

Marina Mourtzakis
Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology
University of Waterloo

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Davis Centre 1304, University of Waterloo

View Video of Presentation in HI Alive Archive: Research Seminars Archive 2008-2009

Abstract

Cancer prevalence is an escalating concern in Canada where more than 166,000 Canadians are expected to be diagnosed with this debilitating disease this year. A large proportion of cancer patients develop unfavourable changes in body composition, particularly muscle atrophy, that are linked to detrimental metabolic perturbations (i.e. insulin resistance, atherogenic profiles), poor survival rates, reduced treatment response and functional deficits. For cancer survivors, these deleterious changes in body composition result in increased risk of cancer recurrence and the development of chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes). There is an abundance of valuable clinical information in patient medical charts including medical history, treatment regimens, diagnostic parameters and medical images. Medical health records, integrated with prospective data collection, provide a more comprehensive understanding for changes in body composition and metabolism that occur over the disease time-course of a cancer patient.

I will present an overview of approaches that we have used to incorporate valuable medical information collected retrospectively to enhance our prospective studies in nutrition, body composition, metabolism and cancer

About the Speaker

Dr. Marina Mourtzakis is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo. Her current program integrates research in nutrition, muscle metabolism, and body composition. It translates concepts of nutrition and exercise required for optimal muscle function in healthy humans towards understanding and mitigating muscle atrophy in cancer patients. Her research interests focus on understanding this phenomenon and identifying nutrition and exercise interventions that counter these detrimental changes. With up to 80% of cancer patients experiencing weight loss during the disease trajectory, the loss of muscle itself has detrimental implications on physical function, quality of life, treatment efficacy and survival for cancer patients. By quantifying muscle loss in cancer patients using CT imaging and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to examine the underlying mechanisms of this problem, Dr. Mourtzakis is developing rehabilitative approaches that combine nutrition and exercise to counter the loss of muscle during the cancer trajectory. She received her BSc and BKin from McMaster University and a PhD from the University of Guelph.