Grip Strength and Oncology: The New Essential Biomarker

Muscle wasting, fatigue, and reduced physical activity lead to decreased grip strength, making it a critical indicator of a patient’s physical status and the effectiveness of ongoing treatment.

For cancer treatment platforms, incorporating grip strength measurement is essential for understanding patient outcomes, and overlooking this metric may have detrimental consequences.

This document explains how grip strength can be used in clinical practice to assess risk, progression and prognosis in patients with cancer.

There are many health benefits to measuring grip strength. Read on to find out, why does grip strength matter in oncology?

“Grip strength is a key indicator of health; it’s a proxy for your overall strength and physical function.”

‘Outlive’ by Peter Attia MD; Longevity Expert

Must-Know Metrics: Grip Strength and Oncology

Grip Strength and Cancer Development

For patients aged between 40-69, each 7.7 lbs* drop in grip strength increases the risk of developing any type of cancer by 10% in women and 6% in men. [Celis-Morales et al., 2018]

Grip Strength: Mortality and Cancer Prognosis Predictions

Women aged between 40-69 with grip strength below 24.3 lbs* face a 61% higher risk of breast cancer mortality. [Celis-Morales et al., 2018]

Also, regarding grip strength and life expectancy, advanced cancer patients with a grip strength weaker than the 10th percentile (90% weaker than their peers) are 3.2 times higher risk of shorter survival and a 9.5 times greater chance of severe muscle weakness. [Kilgour et al., 2013] e.g:

A woman aged between 50-54 years with a grip strength of 27.1 lbs or lower.
A man aged between 65-69 years with a grip strength of 39.7 lbs or lower.

*Note that all cut off points have been converted to GripAble-equivalent measurements for consistency

Grip Strength and Oncology in Practice

Clinical Application

Measure grip strength during routine check-ups to assess risk factors and track trends over time. For high-risk patients, consider providing a hand dynamometer for regular, at-home monitoring. Pay attention when grip strength drops below cut-off points or decreases by more than a quartile.

Patient Empowerment

Give patients access to their grip strength scores. This is a clear, tangible measure they can easily understand and actively improve with guidance. Unlike blood pressure, grip strength is relatable and empowering, enabling patients to track their progress as a key indicator of their independence.

Practical Considerations

Grip strength is an objective, non-invasive measure of patient severity, identifying high-risk individuals and guiding treatment plans.
Grip strength predicts cancer risk and prognosis, especially for cancers affected by metabolic and inflammatory pathways like colorectal, lung, and breast cancers.
Grip strength also reflects frailty and reduced physiological reserve. These factors impair the body’s ability to handle cancer and treatments, underscoring the importance of grip strength assessments in clinical practice and trials.

Impact: Grip Strength and Oncology

Reduce Utilization: identify disease early and understand patient prognosis

Improve Patient Satisfaction: where appropriate, give patients a quick, non-invasive tool to monitor disease status and response to treatment at home

Support Risk Adjustment: quantify disease and treatment impact by using grip strength results as an objective measure of muscle loss

What next?

For further reading, dive into our extensive collection of studies on using a hand dynamometer, grip strength and more here including:

Contribute: Partner with us in research or patient case studies to advance the knowledge of grip strength as a biomarker.

Understand: Get the essentials on hand dynamometry and how to integrate grip strength into your practice with our comprehensive guide.

Get in touch: Website: able-care.co Email: hello@able-care.co

Citations

Celis-Morales, CA, et al. Associations of grip strength with cardiovascular, respiratory, and cancer outcomes and all cause mortality: Prospective cohort study of half a million UK Biobank participants. BMJ (Online), 361 (2018). [LINK]

Hadzibegovic, S, et al. Hand grip strength in patients with advanced cancer: A prospective study. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle 14.4 (2023): 1682-1694. [LINK]

Kilgour, RD, et al. Handgrip strength predicts survival and is associated with markers of clinical and functional outcomes in advanced cancer patients. Support Care Cancer 21, 3261-3270 (2013). [LINK]

Lopez-Bueno, R, et al. Thresholds of handgrip strength for all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality: a systematic review with dose-response meta-analysis. Ageing Research Reviews 82 (2022): 101778. [LINK]

Parra‐Soto, S, et al. Absolute and relative grip strength as predictors of cancer: prospective cohort study of 445 552 participants in UK Biobank. Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle 13.1 (2022): 325-332. [LINK]

Zhuang, CL, et al. Associations of low handgrip strength with cancer mortality: a multicentre observational study. Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle 11.6 (2020): 1476-1486. [LINK]