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Cachexia
Cachexia is the loss of body weight and mass in an individual stricken with illness or disease. It is often associated with cancer, and is seen in up to 75% of individuals with cancer. It appears more frequently in some cancers and less frequently in others; for example, it is often seen in individuals with lung cancer (1).
Cachexia may be the result of a dramatic loss of appetite or inability to properly digest food due to disease. In cancer patients, this may stem from a tumor obstructing the digestive tract, or from the side-effects of chemotherapy or radiation treatment, which may include nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea. Cachexia is not the same as starvation. While a healthy body that experiences starvation slows down the metabolic to maximize the use of nutrients, no such adjustment takes place in cachectic patients, and the wasting away process is quicker (1, 2).
In fact, cachectic individuals often exhibit a higher-than-normal level of energy consumption, even while at rest. How and why this occurs is not fully understood by the medical community. It is because of these metabolic changes that the patient may not be able to maintain or gain weight, even when caloric intake is substantial (1, 2).
The weight loss that occurs in cachectic individuals has a negative impact on the efficacy of treatment, and cachectic patients have worse outcomes with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Moreover, cachexia can have a negative psychological impact on patients and family due to the noticeable changes in body image (1, 3).
Individuals experiencing cancer cachexia cannot usually have their condition reversed through nutritional counseling, artificial feeding, or through appetite-stimulating drugs (2).
- "Cachexia." OncoLink, a web-based cancer resource by the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Available:
http://www.oncolink.org/resources/article.cfm?c=3&s=38&ss=164&id=828 (Accessed July 12, 2007). - Bresnick, Edward, M.D.. (1997) "Cacner, Cachexia, and Cachetic Factors." Cancer Medicine. Volume 1, 4th ed., 148-149).
- "Cachexia." The Merk Manuals: Online Medical Library. Available: http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec11/ch149/ch149e.html (Accessed July 12, 2007).