Cancer Research Group, Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain; and Institut de Biomedicina de la Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
BS Nutrition Centre, 08195 Barcelona, Spain.
Nat Rev Cancer. 2014 Nov;14(11):754-62. doi: 10.1038/nrc3829. Epub 2014 Oct 9.
Cancer cachexia is a devastating, multifactorial and often irreversible syndrome that affects around 50-80% of cancer patients, depending on the tumour type, and that leads to substantial weight loss, primarily from loss of skeletal muscle and body fat. Since cachexia may account for up to 20% of cancer deaths, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms is essential. The occurrence of cachexia in cancer patients is dependent on the patient response to tumour progression, including the activation of the inflammatory response and energetic inefficiency involving the mitochondria. Interestingly, crosstalk between different cell types ultimately seems to result in muscle wasting. Some of the recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of cachexia may lead to new therapeutic approaches.
癌症恶病质是一种破坏性的、多因素的、常常不可逆转的综合征，影响约 50-80%的癌症患者，具体取决于肿瘤类型，并导致大量体重减轻，主要来自骨骼肌和体脂肪的流失。由于恶病质可能导致多达 20%的癌症死亡，因此了解其潜在的分子机制至关重要。癌症患者恶病质的发生取决于患者对肿瘤进展的反应，包括炎症反应的激活和涉及线粒体的能量效率低下。有趣的是，不同细胞类型之间的相互作用最终似乎导致肌肉消耗。对恶病质分子机制的一些最新理解可能会导致新的治疗方法。
