Photo of the Week: Tracking Body Composition

Shelley Tworoger, Ph.D., explains how Moffitt’s DEXA scan measures the thickness and strength of bones by passing a high and low energy X-ray beam through the body. It can also track body fat composition.

Moffitt Cancer Center’s new Population Engagement and Research Laboratory is focused on personalizing prevention, screening and treatment based on each person’s unique characteristics.

Assessing body composition is critical to researching ways to limit the muscle-wasting effects of treatment or disease that cancer patients often experience. DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) scans allow researchers to accurately monitor bone density and distribution of fat and muscle. Tracking body fat composition is an important factor driving tumor cell growth.

Shelley Tworoger, Ph.D., associate center director of Population Science, is focused on advancing precision cancer interception research.

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