Cachexia

From Molecular Insights to Clinical Strategies: Delve into the complexities of cachexia, encompassing cancer cachexia, molecular mechanisms, and evolving therapeutic approaches. Discover the forefront of research aimed at understanding and combating this debilitating condition.

AllAgeingCachexiaCancer CachexiaClinical TrialsExerciseFrailtyFrom the literatureGuidelinesMuscleNutritionOther SCWD EventsSarcopeniaWasting Disorders

Genome-Wide Association Study of Lean Body Mass Response to Resistance Training in Young Asians.

BACKGROUND

Resistance training (RT) is an established intervention for increasing lean body mass (LBM), individual hypertrophic responses exhibit significant heterogeneity, largely influenced by genetic factors. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) aimed to identify novel genetic variants associated with changes in lean...

🗓️ 2026-07-15
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreGenome-Wide Association Study of Lean Body Mass Response to Resistance Training in Young Asians.

Defining Healthy Weight Loss and Target Weight in the Era of Highly Effective Treatment of Patients With Obesity.

BACKGROUND

Highly effective anti-obesity medications (AOMs) induce substantial weight loss and have renewed debate on appropriate treatment targets. Weight loss comprises reductions in fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM), with skeletal muscle (SM) as the major component of FFM. Clinical...

🗓️ 2026-07-15
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreDefining Healthy Weight Loss and Target Weight in the Era of Highly Effective Treatment of Patients With Obesity.

Differential impact of cancer- and chemotherapy-induced cachexia: a comparative analysis in a pre-clinical model of colorectal cancer by biological sex.

Cancer cachexia is a wasting condition characterized by muscle loss and reduced quality of life in cancer patients. Although biological sex differences in the progression of cancer cachexia have been increasingly recognized, their role during chemotherapy-treated cancer cachexia remains largely...

🗓️ 2026-07-15
📰 Publication: American Journal Of Physiology-Endocrinology And Metabolism
Read MoreDifferential impact of cancer- and chemotherapy-induced cachexia: a comparative analysis in a pre-clinical model of colorectal cancer by biological sex.

Calcium Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate-Enriched Nutritional Supplementation During Dietary Weight Loss in Adults With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND

Dietary and pharmacologic weight loss can reduce skeletal muscle. Whether calcium beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate (CaHMB)-enriched supplementation preserves muscle while promoting fat loss in adults with obesity remains uncertain. We evaluated a CaHMB-enriched nutritional supplement during energy restriction.

METHODS

In this randomized, double-blind, controlled trial,...

🗓️ 2026-07-14
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreCalcium Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate-Enriched Nutritional Supplementation During Dietary Weight Loss in Adults With Obesity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

DXA-Measured Total and Regional Fat-to-Lean Mass Ratio and Mortality Risk in Chinese Older Adults: A 20-Year Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND

The association of fat-to-lean mass ratio (FLR) with mortality remains unclear in older adults. This study aimed to investigate the sex-specific associations of total and regional FLR with mortality in older Chinese adults.

METHODS

This analysis included 2000 men (mean age: 72.4 ± 5.0 years)...

🗓️ 2026-07-14
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreDXA-Measured Total and Regional Fat-to-Lean Mass Ratio and Mortality Risk in Chinese Older Adults: A 20-Year Prospective Study.

Association of Intramuscular Fat Infiltration With Incident Venous Thromboembolism: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major acute cardiovascular condition with high mortality, affecting nearly 10 million individuals worldwide each year. Identifying novel and modifiable risk factors is crucial for advancing prevention strategies. Intramuscular fat infiltration (IMFI), a modifiable condition linked...

🗓️ 2026-07-09
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreAssociation of Intramuscular Fat Infiltration With Incident Venous Thromboembolism: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Association of Testosterone With Lean Soft Tissue and Handgrip Strength Across Middle-Aged Men.

BACKGROUND

Testosterone declines by 0.4%-2% annually after the age of 30 and is potentially linked with muscle mass and strength. This study examined how testosterone levels are associated with handgrip strength (HGS) and appendicular lean soft tissue index (ALSTI) in men...

🗓️ 2026-07-08
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreAssociation of Testosterone With Lean Soft Tissue and Handgrip Strength Across Middle-Aged Men.

Li-ginseng powder alleviates cancer cachexia in mice by regulating the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and reducing inflammation.

BACKGROUND

As a debilitating syndrome, cancer cachexia (CC) manifests as ongoing weight reduction and skeletal muscle atrophy, which severely compromise patients' well-being and life expectancy, with no approved treatment available to date. Rare ginsenosides such as Rh2, Rg5, Rk1, and Rh4...

🗓️ 2026-07-03
📰 Publication: Journal Of Ginseng Research
Read MoreLi-ginseng powder alleviates cancer cachexia in mice by regulating the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and reducing inflammation.

A dietary switch promotes sensory neuron-dependent cancer-associated cachexia.

Sickness behaviors are common in cancer-associated cachexia and affect up to half of lung cancer patients. We demonstrate that among the most common cancer mutations, loss of liver kinase B1 (Lkb1) promotes the development of cachexia in preclinical models of...

🗓️ 2026-07-02
📰 Publication: Science
Read MoreA dietary switch promotes sensory neuron-dependent cancer-associated cachexia.

Functional Outcomes and Quality of Life for Patients With Cachexia and Solid Tumour Cancers: Findings of a Systematic Literature Review.

BACKGROUND

Cachexia, a complex multifactorial syndrome characterized by loss of skeletal muscle mass, is common in cancer and impacts treatment response, quality of life (QoL) and survival. No effective therapy is currently available. This report summarizes findings from the literature on...

🗓️ 2026-06-30
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreFunctional Outcomes and Quality of Life for Patients With Cachexia and Solid Tumour Cancers: Findings of a Systematic Literature Review.

Combination Therapy with Bisoprolol and Tissue Protective Molecule ARA 284 Is Cardio-Protective and Improves Survival in Experimental Cancer Cachexia.

BACKGROUND

Cancer cachexia is a serious condition during the last stages of the disease, which is characterized by the loss of muscle and fat mass in patients with cancer. There are no effective treatments for cancer cachexia, and new treatment interventions...

🗓️ 2026-06-25
Read MoreCombination Therapy with Bisoprolol and Tissue Protective Molecule ARA 284 Is Cardio-Protective and Improves Survival in Experimental Cancer Cachexia.

An immunological panacea for cancer-related cachexia.

Cancer cachexia, responsible for up to 30% of cancer deaths, has transitioned conceptually from a mere nutritional deficit into a highly coordinated, multi-organ immunometabolic network that systematically dismantles host homeostasis. This review synthesizes the paradigm-shifting discoveries that position the immune...

🗓️ 2026-06-25
📰 Publication: Trends In Cancer
Read MoreAn immunological panacea for cancer-related cachexia.

Autophagy in cancer cachexia: From mechanisms to therapeutic opportunities.

Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by body weight loss, muscle wasting, and systemic metabolic alterations, significantly contributing to patient morbidity and mortality. A key feature of cachexia is the excessive degradation of muscle proteins and mitochondria, largely mediated...

🗓️ 2026-06-11
Read MoreAutophagy in cancer cachexia: From mechanisms to therapeutic opportunities.

MOTS-c partially protects against skeletal muscle deterioration in C26 cachexia.

BACKGROUND

Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial metabolic syndrome marked by progressive skeletal muscle loss, reduced function, and increased mortality. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a key driver of this phenotype. MOTS-c, a mitochondrial-derived peptide that regulates metabolic homeostasis and mimics exercise signaling, may...

🗓️ 2026-06-10
Read MoreMOTS-c partially protects against skeletal muscle deterioration in C26 cachexia.

Lowered Abundance of Gut Bacteriophage Species Is Associated With Human Cancer Cachexia.

BACKGROUND

Cancer cachexia exemplifies a high medical need condition without effective treatment. Recent studies implicated bacterial gut microbiome alterations to cancer cachexia. Whether the gut bacteriophage profile, an important microbiome component for health and disease, is also related to cancer cachexia...

🗓️ 2026-06-08
📰 Publication: Journal Of Cachexia Sarcopenia And Muscle
Read MoreLowered Abundance of Gut Bacteriophage Species Is Associated With Human Cancer Cachexia.

CACHEXIA DEFINITION

Cachexia has been defined as a loss of lean tissue mass, involving a weight loss greater than 5% of body weight in 12 months or less in the presence of chronic illness or as a body mass index (BMI) lower than 20 kg/m2. In addition, usually three of the following five criteria are required: decreased muscle strength, fatigue, anorexia, low fat-free mass index, increase of inflammation markers such as C-reactive protein or interleukin (IL)-6 as well as anaemia or low serum albumin.

Cachexia can occur in most major diseases including infections, cancer, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and stroke.

REFERENCES
Evans WJ, Morley JE, Argiles J, Bales C, Baracos V, Guttridge D, et al. Cachexia: a new definition. Clin Nutr 2008;27:793–799

Fearon K, Strasser F, Anker SD, Bosaeus I, Bruera E, Fainsinger RL, Jatoi A, Loprinzi C, MacDonald N, Mantovani G, Davis M, Muscaritoli M, Ottery F, Radbruch L, Ravasco P, Walsh D, Wilcock A, Kaasa S, Baracos VE. Definition and classification of cancer cachexia: an international consensus. Lancet Oncol 2011;12:489–495.

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