Metabolic dysfunction contributes to the clinical deterioration observed in advanced cancer patients and is characterized by weight loss, skeletal muscle wasting, and atrophy of the adipose tissue. This systemic syndrome, termed cancer-associated cachexia (CAC), is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. While once attributed solely to decreased food intake, the present description of cancer cachexia is a disorder of multiorgan energy imbalance. Here we review the molecules and pathways responsible for metabolic dysfunction in CAC and the ideas that led to the current understanding.
Keywords: cancer-associated cachexia (CAC); metabolic failure; skeletal muscle atrophy; white adipose tissue (WAT) browning.
© 2016 Petruzzelli and Wagner; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.