Insights about cachexia, one of cancer's most common complications, hiding in routine patient data
Cancer cachexia has long been one of oncology's most stubborn unsolved problems. This severe, uncontrollable wasting affects roughly half of all cancer patients. It makes treatment harder to tolerate, erodes a person's quality of life and is associated with worse outcomes.
Cachexia, a severe and uncontrollable wasting condition affecting roughly half of all cancer patients, has long been a challenging problem in oncology. A team of researchers from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) analyzed routine clinical data collected during the treatment of nearly 60,000 cancer patients to gain a more nuanced understanding of the condition.
This study, published in Nature Medicine, found that cachexia is more than just ordinary weight loss, as it involves the body raiding its own muscle tissue and fat for energy. Patients often lose their appetite, energy, and zest for life, which are biologically driven changes rather than psychological responses. The research could help predict which patients are at risk and facilitate timely support and interventions for cachexia.
Despite its prevalence, there are currently no FDA-approved therapies to treat cachexia, and researchers still do not fully understand its biological drivers at a biological level. The study analyzed more than 2 million body weight measurements and millions of blood test results, along with detailed treatment histories and genetic profiles of patients' tumors.
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