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Helping Lung Cancer Patients Survive Treatment-Related Cachexia

February 15, 2013

By the time cancer patients undergoing treatment show clinical signs of cachexia, the loss of fat and skeletal muscle is already advanced. But respiratory specialists in China believe they've found a way to ease the burden of anorexia-cachexia syndrome in their non-small cell lung cancer patients by combining tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy with parenteral nutrition.

RESULT: Erlotinib Plus Parenteral Nutrition: An Opportunity to Get Through the Hardest Days of Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer With Cancer Anorexia–Cachexia Syndrome
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine | Feb 11, 2013 (Free abstract. Full text $32)

There is an urgent need to find best supportive, multimodality care for cancer treatment-related cachexia, according to international palliative care experts. In a review article, they explain why cachexia therapy such start sooner rather than later, and why clinicians need to look beyond oncological care to the patient's overall lifestyle in order to improve quality of life and tolerance to therapy.

RESULT: Understanding the mechanisms and treatment options in cancer cachexia
Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology | Dec 04, 2012 (FREE FULL TEXT)