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Gabriel Aleixo, MD, is a visiting scholar with the geriatric oncology program.

A study in The Oncologist by Gabriel Aleixo, MD, a visiting scholar with the geriatric oncology program, earned the distinction of being one of the journal’s top download papers.

Aleixo was first author of the paper, “Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis for the Assessment of Sarcopenia in Patients with Cancer: A Systematic Review,” that assessed published studies on the use of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to detect loss of muscle mass, or sarcopenia, in adults with cancer. The paper’s authors, which include UNC Lineberger’s Kirsten Nyrop, PhD, Hy Muss, MD, and Claudio Battaglini, PhD, FACSM, determined BIA is an accurate method for detecting sarcopenia prior to treatment and a viable alternative to CT, dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry, and magnetic resonance imaging.

This finding has clinical implications because BIA is less expensive than current tests, it is noninvasive, and it can be completed within a few minutes during a clinic visit. UNC Lineberger is currently leading a clinical trial to investigate whether conducting BIA before the use of chemotherapy can predict which patients are at greatest risk of chemotherapy-related toxicity.