Sex Differences in Cancer Cachexia

Abstract

Purpose of review: Cachexia, a feature of cancer and other chronic diseases, is marked by progressive weight loss and skeletal muscle wasting. This review aims to highlight the sex differences in manifestations of cancer cachexia in patients, rodent models, and our current understanding of the potential mechanisms accounting for these differences.

Recent findings: Male cancer patients generally have higher prevalence of cachexia, greater weight loss or muscle wasting, and worse outcomes compared with female cancer patients. Knowledge is increasing about sex differences in muscle fiber type and function, mitochondrial metabolism, global gene expression and signaling pathways, and regulatory mechanisms at the levels of sex chromosomes vs. sex hormones; however, it is largely undetermined how such sex differences directly affect the susceptibility to stressors leading to muscle wasting in cancer cachexia. Few studies have investigated basic mechanisms underlying sex differences in cancer cachexia. A better understanding of sex differences would improve cachexia treatment in both sexes.

Keywords: Animals; Cachexia/etiology; Cachexia/pathology; Humans; Neoplasms/complications; Sex characteristics.

Fig. 1

Summary of sex difference in cancer cachexia phenotypes. Shown are the observations with clearer sex differences. Italics, the difference is not conclusive or not documented in cancer cachexia