Assessment of Muscle Function Decline and Cachexia-Related Biomarkers in Hospitalized Oncology Patients: Study Protocol

Background: Cancer cachexia and sarcopenia are highly prevalent complications affecting up to 50% of patients with cancer and are associated with increased treatment toxicity, poorer functional outcomes, and reduced survival. Early identification of muscle deterioration during hospitalization remains challenging. Objective: To evaluate the change in dominant-hand handgrip strength between hospital admission and discharge in hospitalized oncology patients. Methods: This prospective longitudinal study will evaluate hospitalized adults with confirmed malignancy and an expected hospital stay of ≥5 days. Daily handgrip strength and sEMG assessments will be performed as exploratory secondary measures to characterize temporal patterns of muscle function during hospitalization. Baseline and discharge evaluations will additionally include bioelectrical impedance analysis, validated patient-reported outcome measures (SARC-F, EORTC QLQ-C30, PSQI), and serum biomarkers related to inflammatory and nutritional status. Linear mixed models will be used to evaluate longitudinal changes and associations between functional, electrophysiological, and biochemical parameters. Expected results: The study aims to characterize trajectories of muscle function decline during hospitalization, identify candidate biomarker signatures for cachexia detection, and evaluate neuromuscular fatigue patterns using sEMG. Conclusions: This protocol proposes a feasible multimodal framework for monitoring skeletal muscle deterioration during acute oncology hospitalization and may inform future interventional strategies targeting cancer-related cachexia and sarcopenia.