Department of Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
The Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Radiologie (Heidelb). 2024 Nov;64(Suppl 1):10-15. doi: 10.1007/s00117-024-01346-5. Epub 2024 Jul 12.
Cancer cachexia, often referred to as "wasting syndrome," is characterized by fatigue, weakness, and involuntary weight loss. This syndrome is concomitant with progressive skeletal muscle atrophy with or without adipose tissue loss and is frequently accompanied by systemic inflammation. Understanding the complexities of cancer cachexia is crucial for early detection and intervention, and it is also paramount for enhancing patient outcomes. Medical imaging, comprising diverse imaging modalities, plays a pivotal role in this context, facilitating the diagnosis and surveillance assessment of both the disease extent and the body composition changes that offer valuable information and insights into disease progression. This article provides a comprehensive discourse of the pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical manifestations of cancer cachexia as well as the role of medical imaging in this setting. Particular emphasis is placed on contemporary multidisciplinary and translational research efforts for the development of diagnostic and treatment tools, aiming to mitigate the devastating consequences of cancer cachexia.
癌症恶病质，常被称为“消耗综合征”，其特征是疲劳、虚弱和非自愿性体重减轻。这种综合征伴随着进行性的骨骼肌萎缩，伴有或不伴有脂肪组织丢失，并且经常伴有全身炎症。了解癌症恶病质的复杂性对于早期发现和干预至关重要，对于提高患者的治疗效果也至关重要。医学影像学包括多种成像方式，在这方面起着关键作用，有助于诊断和监测疾病的严重程度以及身体成分的变化，为疾病进展提供有价值的信息和见解。本文全面论述了癌症恶病质的病理生理机制和临床表现，以及医学影像学在这方面的作用。特别强调了开发诊断和治疗工具的当代多学科和转化研究努力，旨在减轻癌症恶病质的毁灭性后果。
