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BackgroundEpidemiological evidence suggests that inadequate sleep duration and insomnia may be associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, longitudinal data with repeated measures of sleep duration and insomnia and of MetS are limited. We examined the association of sleep duration and insomnia with MetS and its components using longitudinal data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).MethodsThe study included postmenopausal women (ages 50-79 years) diabetes-free at enrollment in the WHI, with baseline data on sleep duration (n = 5,159), insomnia (n = 5,063), MetS, and its components. Repeated measures of self-reported sleep duration and insomnia were available from years 1 or 3 of follow-up and of the MetS components from years 3, 6 and 9. Associations were assessed using logistic regression and generalized estimating equations models, and odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for major risk factors were calculated.ResultsIn cross-sectional analysis, baseline sleep duration ≥ 9 h was positively associated with MetS (OR = 1.51; 95%CI 1.12-2.04), while sleep duration of 8-  88 cm and triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL (OR = 1.18; 95%CI 1.01-1.40 and OR = 1.23; 95%CI 1.05-1.46, respectively). Insomnia had a borderline positive association with MetS (OR = 1.14; 95%CI 0.99-1.31), and significant positive associations with waist circumference > 88 cm and glucose ≥ 100 mg/dL (OR = 1.18; 95%CI 1.03-1.34 and OR = 1.17; 95%CI 1.02-1.35, respectively). In the longitudinal analysis, change from restful sleep to insomnia over time was associated with increased odds of developing MetS (OR = 1.40; 95%CI 1.01-1.94), and of a triglyceride level ≥ 150 mg/dL (OR = 1.48; 95%CI 1.08-2.03).ConclusionsAmong postmenopausal women in the WHI, sleep duration and insomnia were associated with current and future risk of MetS and some of its components.

Prior research suggests a relationship between overall diet quality and breast cancer survival, although few studies have reported on this topic. We evaluated whether 4 dietary quality indices consistent with healthy eating recommendations around the time of breast cancer diagnosis were associated with risk of recurrence, cause-specific, and all-cause mortality. A total of 3660 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer were included. Diet was assessed an average of 2.3 (range = 0.7-18.7) months after diagnosis, from which 4 dietary quality indices were derived: the American Cancer Society guidelines (ACS), the alternate Mediterranean Diet Index (aMED), the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), and the 2015 Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Over 40 888 person-years of follow-up, 461 breast cancer recurrences, and 655 deaths were ascertained. Cox models were used to estimate hazards ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Adjusted comparisons between extreme quintiles showed all 4 dietary quality indices to be inversely associated with all-cause mortality, suggesting a 21%-27% lower risk (ACS HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.56 to 0.95; aMED HR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.03; DASH HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.58 to 1.00; HEI HR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.60 to 1.01). Similar patterns were noted for non-breast cancer mortality (ACS HR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.48 to 0.98; aMED HR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.50 to 1.05; DASH HR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.38 to 0.79; HEI HR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.48 to 0.94). None of the dietary quality indices were associated with recurrence or breast cancer-specific mortality. Food intake patterns concordant with dietary quality indices consistent with recommendations for healthy eating may be beneficial for women with breast cancer.

ObjectivePrevious studies of breast cancer survival have not considered specific depots of adipose tissue such as subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT).MethodsThis study assessed these relationships among 3,235 women with stage II and III breast cancer diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 at Kaiser Permanente Northern California and between 2000 and 2012 at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. SAT and VAT areas (in centimeters squared) were calculated from routine computed tomography scans within 6 (median: 1.2) months of diagnosis, covariates were collected from electronic health records, and vital status was assessed by death records. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated using Cox regression.ResultsSAT and VAT ranged from 19.0 to 891 cm2 and from 0.484 to 454 cm2 , respectively. SAT was related to increased risk of death (127-cm2 increase; HR [95% CI]: 1.13 [1.02-1.26]), but no relationship was found with VAT (78.18-cm2 increase; HR [95% CI]: 1.02 [0.91-1.14]). An association with VAT was noted among women with stage II cancer (stage II: HR: 1.17 [95% CI: 0.99-1.39]; stage III: HR: 0.90 [95% CI: 0.76-1.07]; P interaction

Background: Many patients with colon cancer cannot fully adhere to postoperative chemotherapy due to dose-limiting toxicities, resulting in lower relative dose intensity (RDI) and potentially compromising overall survival. This study examined whether home-based resistance training (RT) during adjuvant chemotherapy improves RDI and patient-reported toxicities versus usual care (UC) in colon cancer patients. Methods: Multicenter, randomized control trial (RCT) conducted at community and academic practices. Enrollment of patients receiving postoperative chemotherapy for colon cancer occurred between February 23, 2018, and September 29, 2021; final follow-up was March 21, 2022. Participants were randomized to RT (n = 90) or UC (n = 91) for the duration of chemotherapy. Participants in the RT group engaged in twice weekly home-based progressive RT. At the end of the study, UC was given an online exercise program. Results: Among 181 randomized patients (mean age, 55.2 [SD, 12.8] years, 95 [52.5%] were men), there were no differences in the mean RDI among those in RT (79% [SD, 19%]) and those in UC (82% [SD, 19%]); (mean difference -0.04 [95% confidence interval (CI), -0.09 to 0.02]). Assignment to RT did not significantly reduce the number of moderate/severe symptoms per week across follow-up (relative rate: 0.94 [95% CI, 0.72-1.22]). Additionally, time since randomization did not significantly modify the effect of RT on the overall number of symptoms (p = .06). Conclusions: Among patients with colon cancer, these results do not support homebased RT as an adjunct to chemotherapy specifically to improve planned treatment intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is emerging evidence that cancer and its treatments may accelerate the normal aging process, increasing the magnitude and rate of decline in functional capacity. This accelerated aging process is hypothesized to hasten the occurrence of common adverse age-related outcomes in cancer survivors, including loss of muscle mass and decrease in physical function. However, there is no data describing age-related loss of muscle mass and its relation to physical function in the long-term in cancer survivors. Methods: This study protocol describes the use of a novel method of muscle mass measurement, D3-creatine dilution method (D3Cr), in a large sample (n~6000) of community dwelling postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). D3Cr will be used to obtain a direct measure of muscle mass remotely. Participants will be drawn from two sub-cohorts embedded within the WHI that have recently completed an in-home visit. Cancer survivors will be drawn from the Life and Longevity After Cancer (LILAC) cohort, and cancer-free controls will be drawn from the WHI Long Life Study 2. The overall objective of this study is to examine the antecedents and consequences of low muscle mass in cancer survivors. The study aims are to: 1) create age-standardized muscle mass percentile curves and z-scores to characterize the distribution of D3- muscle mass in cancer survivors and non-cancer controls, 2) compare muscle mass, physical function, and functional decline in cancer survivors and non- cancer controls, and 3) use machine learning approaches to generate multivariate risk-prediction algorithms to detect low muscle mass. Discussion: The D3Cr method will transform our ability to measure muscle mass in large-scale epidemiologic research. This study is an opportunity to advance our understanding of a key source of morbidity among older and long-term female cancer survivors. This project will fill knowledge gaps, including the antecedents and consequences of low muscle mass, and use innovative methods to overcome common sources of bias in cancer research. The results of this study will be used to develop interventions to mitigate the harmful effects of low muscle mass in older adults and promote healthy survivorship in cancer survivors in the old (>65) and oldest-old (>85) age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The number of breast cancer survivors is increasing, yet evidence to inform dietary and lifestyle guidelines is limited. Methods: This analysis included 3,658 participants from the Pathways Study, a prospective cohort of women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. A healthy plant-based dietary index score (hPDI), an American Cancer Society (ACS) nutrition guidelines score, a 2015 Healthy Eating Index score (HEI), hours per week of moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA), and lifetime cumulative pack-years of cigarette smoking (SM) were each measured at diagnosis, 6, 24, and 72 months. Using g-computation, 5- and 10-year risk ratios (RR), risk differences, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality under hypothetical interventions on diet quality, PA, and SM, compared with the natural course (no intervention) were calculated. Results: Hypothetical moderate to extreme interventions on hPDI, ACS, and HEI, each in combination with PA and SM, showed 11% to 56%, 9% to 38%, and 9% to 49% decreases in 5-year risks of all-cause mortality compared with no intervention, respectively [(hPDI: RRmoderate = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.82-0.94; RRextreme = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.26-0.67), (ACS: RRmoderate = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.96; RRextreme = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.43-0.82), (HEI: RRmoderate = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.84-0.95; RRextreme = 0.51, 95% CI: 0.33-0.72)]. While 10-year relative risks were slightly attenuated, absolute risk reductions were more pronounced. Conclusions: Interventions to improve diet quality, increase PA, or reduce SM at the time of diagnosis may improve survival among breast cancer survivors. Impact: We estimate that over 10% of deaths could be delayed by even moderate adoption of these behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite evidence that low muscle increases the risk of chemotoxicity, most chemotherapies are dosed on body surface area without considering body composition. Among 178 patients with colon cancer, we assessed muscle and adipose tissue with multiple techniques and examined their associations with relative dose intensity (RDI) and adverse events. Methods: We estimated (i) cross-sectional skeletal muscle area (SMA) and total adipose tissue (TAT) area at L3 from computed tomography (CT); (ii) appendicular lean mass (ALM) and total body fat (TBF) mass from dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA); and (iii) total body skeletal muscle mass using D3-creatine (D3Cr) dilution. We standardized each measurement by its sex-specific standard deviation (SD). The primary outcome was reduced RDI (RDI <85%). The secondary outcome was the number of moderate and severe adverse events during each cycle of chemotherapy. We estimated the associations of muscle and adipose tissue measurements (per SD increase) with reduced RDI using logistic regression and adverse events using generalized estimating equations for repeated measures. Results: Higher CT SMA and DXA ALM were significantly associated with a lower risk of reduced RDI [odds ratios: 0.56 (0.38-0.81) for CT SMA; 0.56 (0.37-0.84) for DXA ALM]. No measurements of muscle or adipose tissue were associated with adverse events. Conclusions: More muscle was associated with improved chemotherapy completion among patients with colon cancer, whereas muscle and adipose tissue were not associated with adverse events. Impact: Considering body composition may help personalize dosing for colon cancer chemotherapy by identifying patients at risk for poor chemotherapy outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lifestyle habits can impact breast cancer development, but its impact on breast cancer prognosis remains unclear. We investigated associations of post-diagnosis lifestyle with mortality and recurrence in 1,964 women with invasive breast cancer enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Pathways Study shortly after diagnosis with lifestyle information at baseline (2005-2013) and the 2-year follow-up. Methods: We calculated a post-diagnosis lifestyle score (range, 0-18) based on 9 diet, physical activity, and body weight recommendations from the American Cancer Society/American Society of Clinical Oncology (ACS/ASCO) using follow-up data (body weight also included baseline data); higher scores indicate greater guideline concordance. Similarly, we calculated a pre-diagnosis lifestyle score using baseline data to investigate pre- to post-diagnosis changes. We estimated hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Cox proportional hazard models, with follow-up through December 2018 (observing 290 deaths and 176 recurrences). Results: The 2-year post-diagnosis lifestyle score was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (ACM; HR per 2-point increase = 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.98), and breast cancer-related mortality (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.67-0.95), but not recurrence. Relative to women who maintained low concordance with recommendations at both time points, women who maintained high concordance had a lower risk of ACM (HR, 0.61, 95% CI, 0.37-1.03). Improved concordance with some specific recommendations (particularly PA) may be associated with a lower hazard of ACM (HRPA, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.35-0.78). Conclusions: Results suggest that women with breast cancer may benefit from a post-diagnosis lifestyle aligned with ACS/ASCO guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Adipose tissue radiodensity may have prognostic importance for colorectal cancer (CRC) survival. Lower radiodensity is indicative of larger adipocytes, while higher radiodensity may represent adipocyte atrophy, inflammation, or edema. Objectives We investigated associations of adipose tissue radiodensity and longitudinal changes in adipose tissue radiodensity with mortality among patients with nonmetastatic CRC. Methods In 3023 patients with stage I–III CRC, radiodensities of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were quantified from diagnostic computed tomography (CT) images. There were 1775 patients with follow-up images available. Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic splines were used to examine associations of at-diagnosis values and of longitudinal changes in VAT and SAT radiodensities with risks of death after adjusting for potential confounders, including body size and comorbidities. Results VAT and SAT radiodensities were linearly associated with all-cause mortality: the HRs for death per SD increase were 1.21 (95% CI, 1.11–1.32) for VAT radiodensity and 1.18 (95% CI, 1.11–1.26) for SAT radiodensity. Changes in adipose tissue radiodensity had curvilinear associations with risks of death. The HR for an increase in VAT radiodensity of at least 1 SD was 1.53 (95% CI, 1.23–1.90), while the HR for a decrease of at least 1 SD was nonsignificant at 1.11 (95% CI, 0.84–1.47) compared with maintaining radiodensity within 1 SD of baseline. Similarly, increases (HR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.48–2.40) but not decreases (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.94–1.54) in SAT radiodensity significantly increased the risk of death compared with no change in radiodensity. Conclusions In patients with nonmetastatic CRC, adipose tissue radiodensity is a novel risk factor for total mortality that is independent of BMI and changes in body weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The quantity and distribution of adipose tissue may be prognostic measures of mortality in colorectal cancer patients, and such associations may vary by patient sex.Methods: This cohort included 3262 stage I-III colorectal cancer patients. Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissues were quantified using computed tomography. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality. Restricted cubic splines estimated statistical associations with two-sided P values.Results: Visceral adipose tissue was prognostic of mortality in a reverse L-shaped pattern (nonlinear P = .02); risk was flat to a threshold (∼260 cm2) then increased linearly. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was prognostic of mortality in a J-shaped pattern (nonlinear P < .001); risk was higher at extreme (<50 cm2) but lower at intermediate values (>50 to ≤560 cm2). Patient sex modified the prognostic associations between visceral adipose tissue (Pinteraction = .049) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (Pinteraction = .04) with mortality. Among men, visceral adiposity was associated with mortality in a J-shaped pattern (nonlinear P = .003), whereas among women, visceral adiposity was associated with mortality in a linear pattern (linear P = .008). Among men, subcutaneous adiposity was associated with mortality in an L-shaped pattern (nonlinear P = .01), whereas among women, subcutaneous adiposity was associated with mortality in a J-shaped pattern (nonlinear P < .001).Conclusions: Visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue were prognostic of mortality in patients with colorectal cancer; the shape of these associations were often nonlinear and varied by patient sex. These results offer insight into the potential biological mechanisms that link obesity with clinical outcomes in patients with cancer, suggesting that the dysregulated deposition of excess adiposity is prognostic of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP) score has been associated with concentrations of circulating inflammatory biomarkers in European Americans.Objective: We used the EDIP score, a weighted sum of 18 food groups that characterizes dietary inflammatory potential based on circulating concentrations of inflammatory biomarkers, to test the hypothesis that a pro-inflammatory dietary pattern is associated with inflammatory biomarker concentrations in a US multi-ethnic population.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we calculated EDIP scores using baseline food frequency questionnaire data from 31,472 women, aged 50-79 y, in the Women's Health Initiative observational study and clinical trials. Circulating biomarkers outcomes at baseline were: C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, TNF receptor (TNFR) 1 and 2, and adiponectin. We used multivariable-adjusted linear regression analyses to estimate absolute concentrations and relative differences in biomarker concentrations, overall and in subgroups of race/ethnicity and BMI (body mass index) categories.Results: Independent of energy intake, BMI, physical activity, and other potential confounding variables, higher EDIP scores were significantly associated with higher (lower for adiponectin) absolute concentrations of all 6 biomarkers. On the relative scale, the percentage of difference in the concentration of biomarkers, among women in the highest compared to the lowest EDIP quintile, was: CRP, +13% (P-trend < 0.0001); IL-6, +15% (P-trend < 0.0001); TNF-α, +7% (P-trend = 0.0007); TNFR1, +4% (P-trend = 0.0009); TNFR2, +5% (P-trend < 0.0001); and adiponectin, -13% (P-trend <0.0001). These associations differed by racial/ethnic groups and by BMI categories. Whereas the absolute biomarker concentrations were lower among European-American women and among normal-weight women, the associations with diet were stronger than among women of African-American or Hispanic/Latino origin and among overweight and obese women.Conclusions: Findings demonstrate the successful replication of an empirical hypothesis-oriented a posteriori dietary pattern score in a multi-ethnic population of postmenopausal women, with subgroup differences by race/ethnicity and body weight. Future research needs to apply the score in non-US populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achieving a healthy weight is recommended for all breast cancer survivors. Previous research on postdiagnosis weight change and mortality had conflicting results. Methods: We examined whether change in body weight in the 18 months following diagnosis is associated with overall and breast cancer-specific mortality in a cohort of n = 12,590 stage I-III breast cancer patients at Kaiser Permanente using multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models. Follow-up was from the date of the postdiagnosis weight at 18 months until death or June 2015 [median follow-up (range): 3 (0-9) years]. We divided follow-up into earlier (18-54 months) and later (>54 months) postdiagnosis periods. Results: Mean (SD) age-at-diagnosis was 59 (11) years. A total of 980 women died, 503 from breast cancer. Most women maintained weight within 5% of diagnosis body weight; weight loss and gain were equally common at 19% each. Compared with weight maintenance, large losses (=10%) were associated with worse survival, with HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause death of 2.63 (2.12-3.26) earlier and 1.60 (1.14-2.25) later in follow-up. Modest losses (>5%-<10%) were associated with worse survival earlier [1.39 (1.11-1.74)] but not later in follow-up [0.77 (0.54-1.11)]. Weight gain was not related to survival. Results were similar for breast cancer-specific death. Conclusion: Large postdiagnosis weight loss is associated with worse survival in both earlier and later postdiagnosis periods, independent of treatment and prognostic factors. Impact: Weight loss and gain are equally common after breast cancer, and weight loss is a consistent marker of mortality risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Higher body mass index (BMI) is associated with incident colorectal cancer but not consistently with colorectal cancer survival. Whether weight gain or loss is associated with colorectal cancer survival is largely unknown. Methods: We identified 2,781 patients from Kaiser Permanente Northern California diagnosed with stages I-III colorectal cancer between 2006 and 2011 with weight and height measurements within 3 months of diagnosis and approximately 18 months after diagnosis. We evaluated associations between weight change and colorectal cancer-specific and overall mortality, adjusted for sociodemographics, disease severity, and treatment. Results: After completion of treatment and recovery from stage I-III colorectal cancer, loss of at least 10% of baseline weight was associated with significantly worse colorectal cancer-specific mortality (HR 3.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.33-4.39; Ptrend < 0.0001) and overall mortality (HR 3.27; 95% CI, 2.56-4.18; Ptrend < 0.0001). For every 5% loss of baseline weight, there was a 41% increased risk of colorectal cancer-specific mortality (95% CI, 29%-56%). Weight gain was not significantly associated with colorectal cancer-specific mortality (Ptrend = 0.54) or overall mortality (Ptrend = 0.27). The associations were largely unchanged after restricting analyses to exclude patients who died within 6 months and 12 months of the second weight measurement. No significant interactions were demonstrated for weight loss or gain by gender, stage, primary tumor location, or baseline BMI. Conclusions: Weight loss after diagnosis was associated with worse colorectal cancer-specific mortality and overall mortality. Reverse causation does not appear to explain our findings. Impact: Understanding mechanistic underpinnings for the association of weight to worse mortality is important to improving patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Physical activity is frequently proposed as an intervention to reduce fatigue and sleep disturbance in cancer survivors; however, the long-term effects of physical activity are often not reported, and older adults are typically excluded from these intervention studies. OBJECTIVES: This article aimed to examine if postdiagnosis physical activity is associated with lower long-term fatigue and sleep disturbance in older adult breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Data were analyzed of a prospective cohort of 440 breast cancer survivors aged 65 years or older from the Women's Health Initiative study. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to examine associations of physical activity with fatigue and sleep disturbance. FINDINGS: Higher postdiagnosis physical activity was associated with lower long-term fatigue but was not associated with lower sleep disturbance after adjusting for demographics, cancer characteristics, and baseline measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is emerging evidence that cancer and its treatments may accelerate the normal aging process, increasing the magnitude and rate of decline in functional capacity. This accelerated aging process is hypothesized to hasten the occurrence of common adverse age-related outcomes in cancer survivors, including loss of muscle mass and decrease in physical function. However, there is no data describing age-related loss of muscle mass and its relation to physical function in the long-term in cancer survivors., Methods: This study protocol describes the use of a novel method of muscle mass measurement, D3-creatine dilution method (D3Cr), in a large sample (n~6000) of community dwelling postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). D3Cr will be used to obtain a direct measure of muscle mass remotely. Participants will be drawn from two sub-cohorts embedded within the WHI that have recently completed an in-home visit. Cancer survivors will be drawn from the Life and Longevity After Cancer (LILAC) cohort, and cancer-free controls will be drawn from the WHI Long Life Study 2. The overall objective of this study is to examine the antecedents and consequences of low muscle mass in cancer survivors. The study aims are to: 1) create age-standardized muscle mass percentile curves and z-scores to characterize the distribution of D3- muscle mass in cancer survivors and non-cancer controls, 2) compare muscle mass, physical function, and functional decline in cancer survivors and non- cancer controls, and 3) use machine learning approaches to generate multivariate risk-prediction algorithms to detect low muscle mass., Discussion: The D3Cr method will transform our ability to measure muscle mass in large-scale epidemiologic research. This study is an opportunity to advance our understanding of a key source of morbidity among older and long-term female cancer survivors. This project will fill knowledge gaps, including the antecedents and consequences of low muscle mass, and use innovative methods to overcome common sources of bias in cancer research. The results of this study will be used to develop interventions to mitigate the harmful effects of low muscle mass in older adults and promote healthy survivorship in cancer survivors in the old (>65) and oldest-old (>85) age groups., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Banack et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Importance: Systemic inflammation and sarcopenia are easily evaluated, predict mortality in many cancers, and are potentially modifiable. The combination of inflammation and sarcopenia may be able to identify patients with early-stage colorectal cancer (CRC) with poor prognosis., Objective: To examine associations of prediagnostic systemic inflammation with at-diagnosis sarcopenia, and determine whether these factors interact to predict CRC survival, adjusting for age, ethnicity, sex, body mass index, stage, and cancer site., Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective cohort of 2470 Kaiser Permanente patients with stage I to III CRC diagnosed from 2006 through 2011., Exposures: Our primary measure of inflammation was the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). We averaged NLR in the 24 months before diagnosis (mean count = 3 measures; mean time before diagnosis = 7 mo). The reference group was NLR of less than 3, indicating low or no inflammation., Main Outcomes and Measures: Using computed tomography scans, we calculated skeletal muscle index (muscle area at the third lumbar vertebra divided by squared height). Sarcopenia was defined as less than 52 cm2/m2 and less than 38 cm2/m2 for normal or overweight men and women, respectively, and less than 54 cm2/m2 and less than 47 cm2/m2 for obese men and women, respectively. The main outcome was death (overall or CRC related)., Results: Among 2470 patients, 1219 (49%) were female; mean (SD) age was 63 (12) years. An NLR of 3 or greater and sarcopenia were common (1133 [46%] and 1078 [44%], respectively). Over a median of 6 years of follow-up, we observed 656 deaths, 357 from CRC. Increasing NLR was associated with sarcopenia in a dose-response manner (compared with NLR < 3, odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.10-1.67 for NLR 3 to <5; 1.47; 95% CI, 1.16-1.85 for NLR ≥ 5; P for trend < .001). An NLR of 3 or greater and sarcopenia independently predicted overall (hazard ratio [HR], 1.64; 95% CI, 1.40-1.91 and HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.10-1.53, respectively) and CRC-related death (HR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.39-2.12 and HR, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.13-1.78, respectively). Patients with both sarcopenia and NLR of 3 or greater (vs neither) had double the risk of death, overall (HR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.70-2.65) and CRC related (HR, 2.43; 95% CI, 1.79-3.29)., Conclusions and Relevance: Prediagnosis inflammation was associated with at-diagnosis sarcopenia. Sarcopenia combined with inflammation nearly doubled risk of death, suggesting that these commonly collected biomarkers could enhance prognostication. A better understanding of how the host inflammatory/immune response influences changes in skeletal muscle may open new therapeutic avenues to improve cancer outcomes.