Muscle wasting in cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Biochemical and functional biomarkers of cachexia in cancer patients
IRAS ID
190214
Contact name
Richard JE Skipworth
Contact email
Research summary
One way cancer affects people is through wasting, including loss of weight, and specifically loss of muscle. Stomach, gullet, and pancreas cancers cause more weight/muscle loss than other cancer types. Cancer patients who have lost a lot of weight show decreased quality of life, decreased response to treatment (e.g. chemotherapy), increased complications from surgery to remove cancer, and shorter overall survival. In this wasting process (called cachexia), all types of body tissue are lost, but there appears to be a greater rate of muscle loss compared with fat. We aim to identify molecular (and patient) factors within the muscle, fat, tumour, blood and urine of patients with cancer associated with cachexia in order to identify patients at risk of wasting, and identify potential therapies. For this, we aim to take patient samples (muscle, fat, urine and blood) whilst patients are asleep (general anaesthesia) during their operation to remove the cancer. This will minimise/eradicate discomfort of sampling. The samples, and similar samples taken in previous studies, will be analysed in the laboratory. Along with the sample taking, we also aim to perform nutritional assessments of the patient in order to get an accurate picture of whether or not they have developed wasting. This will include simple measurements (e.g. height and weight), and computer reanalysis of the CT scans that they will already have had performed for diagnosis (this will not require any additional scans for the patient). We also want to make an assessment of how their muscles function, by asking them to perform walk tests and wear a physical activity meter, and an assessment of their quality of life through questionnaires.
For comparison, we also aim to examine similar samples (except tumour) from patients who do not have cancer and are having surgery for benign conditions (e.g. hernia).REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
15/SS/0182
Date of REC Opinion
19 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion