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Comment
. 2016 Jul 21;35(1):67.
doi: 10.1186/s40880-016-0129-8.

The rationale for preventing cancer cachexia: targeting excessive fatty acid oxidation

Chao-Nan Qian  1
Affiliations
Comment

The rationale for preventing cancer cachexia: targeting excessive fatty acid oxidation

Chao-Nan Qian. Chin J Cancer. .

Abstract

Cachexia commonly occurs at the terminal stage of cancer and has largely unclear molecular mechanisms. A recent study published in Nature Medicine, entitled "Excessive fatty acid oxidation induces muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia," reveals that cachectic cancer cells can secrete multiple cytokines that induce excessive fatty acid oxidation, which is responsible for muscle loss in cancer cachexia. Inhibition of fatty acid oxidation using etomoxir can increase muscle mass and body weight in cancer cachexia animal models. The usage of stable cachexia animal models is also discussed in this research highlight.

Keywords: Cachexia; Cancer; Fatty acid oxidation.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Different clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cell lines have different biological behaviors after orthotopic inoculation of the cancer cells into the subrenal capsule area. Inoculation of cancer cells into the subrenal capsule area of nude mice to generate an orthotopic renal cancer model was applied to evaluate the different biological behaviors of ccRCC cells. The tumor composed of the RXF393 cell line induced cachexia in the host, leading to a moribund condition, even when the primary tumor was small (green dashed circle). The tumor composed of the SN12C cell line could not induce cachexia or metastasis, even when the primary tumor was very large (green dashed circle). The tumor composed of the SKRC39 cell line could generate heavy lung metastases (blue dashed line), but not cachexia
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Excessive fatty acid oxidation induces muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia.
    Fukawa T, Yan-Jiang BC, Min-Wen JC, Jun-Hao ET, Huang D, Qian CN, Ong P, Li Z, Chen S, Mak SY, Lim WJ, Kanayama HO, Mohan RE, Wang RR, Lai JH, Chua C, Ong HS, Tan KK, Ho YS, Tan IB, Teh BT, Shyh-Chang N. Fukawa T, et al. Nat Med. 2016 Jun;22(6):666-71. doi: 10.1038/nm.4093. Epub 2016 May 2. Nat Med. 2016. PMID: 27135739

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