Why do cancer patients lose weight? Cancer Cachexia

Side effects from cancer and treatments are a major challenge for patients and doctors. Cachexia is the second cause of cancer-related deaths after sepsis (infection-related multiple organ failure)!

Cachexia involves weight loss in cancer patients that cannot be reversed with ordinary nutritional support. Recent research linked it with anorexia (reduced food intake), leading to the name cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome for this condition.

Many factors contribute to the syndrome. Its main feature is muscle loss together with deterioration of fat tissue. Involuntary weight loss and appetite loss reduce quality of life.

Advanced cancer anorexia-cachexia cannot be fully treated simply by eating more or using nutritional support. Progressive weight loss makes daily needs difficult. Early stages involve altered intake, small weight losses and appetite changes. With progression, patients lose more weight and eat less. Muscle loss becomes visible, and the condition resists ordinary treatment and nutritional supplements.

Its biochemical mechanisms are not fully understood. No drug currently targets this tumor-related syndrome.

It occurs most frequently with progressing disease, and onset depends on cancer type. Gastrointestinal, pancreatic, lung and colorectal cancers show pretreatment weight loss in 50 -85 percent. In the United States alone, more than 1.3 million people have cancer anorexia-cachexia.

In conclusion;

- Cancer anorexia-cachexia causes weight and muscle loss and reduces quality of life.

- More than half of cancer patients experience this syndrome.

- Cancer anorexia-cachexia accounts for 20 percent of all cancer-related deaths.

Our next article will cover “recent developments in cancer cachexia treatment”.