Editorial: state of the art body composition profiling: advances in imaging modalities and patient outcomes

In the last years, body composition (BC) analysis has emerged as a ground-breaking tool that can provide helpful data about nutritional status, in addition to more conventional indicators, as albumin value and body mass index. Recent data disclosed that distinct patterns of BC are associated with different outcomes, in particular in oncologic patients. Hence, we proposed this research topic, on one side, to expand knowledge about the imaging techniques to evaluate BC assessment, ranging from the most conventional ones to the most advanced (including artificial intelligence-aided techniques); on the other, to assess the effects of BC on different outcome indicators, as post-operative or chemotherapy-related complications and survival. In our research topic, we published eight papers: 3 focused on liver diseases, 1 on pancreatic cancer, 1 on ovarian cancer, 1 on lung cancer, 1 on breast cancer and 1 on radiotherapy, thus highlighting the wide variety of fields in which the clinical role of BC is under evaluation.