A solid tumour can cause muscle cells in the body to self-destruct.
A solid tumour can cause muscle cells in the body to self-destruct. Many cancer patients die from the consequences. Now researchers are discovering more about how cancer cells in a tumour can take control of muscle cell wasting and trigger a chronic, serious condition.
This type of cancer-related muscle wasting is due to a complicated metabolic syndrome called cachexia. The name comes from the Greek words for “bad condition”, which is quite descriptive for the health state of patients after a tumour has triggered muscle atrophy in their bodies over a long period.
“The tumour may be in a completely different place than where the affected muscle cells are,” says Geir Bjørkøy, a professor at NTNU’s Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, in the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
“A small tumour hidden in your lungs or pancreas can cause your muscles to shrink and weaken. You may feel fatigue, shortness of breath or your tolerance to exercise may be impaired because your heart function may be reduced,” says Kristine Pettersen, a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research (CEMIR) at NTNU.
Read more at: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Activin A and IL-6 are both key signalling factors and functionally linked. (Photo Credit: Illustration: NTNU and biorender.com)
