"Skeletal Muscle Strength as a Predictor of All-Cause Mortality in Healthy Men," "Strength, but not Muscle Mass, Is Associated With Mortality in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study Cohort," "Decreased Muscle and Increased Central Adiposity are Independently Related to Mortality in Older Men," etc.
Unlike simple starvation, where body fat is lost preferentially, cancer cachexia is associated with depletion of both fat and skeletal muscle mass. Although anorexia is frequently associated with cachexia a reduction of nutrient intake alone could not explain the progressive wasting. Instead the process appears to be mediated by circulatory tumor-produced catabolic factors acting either alone or in concert with certain cytokines. A knowledge of the mechanisms involved should lead to the development of effective pharmacological intervention. Effective therapy should not only improve the quality of life of the cancer patient, but should lead to an increase in survival. Since cachexia is so common in cancer host products may be required for tumor homeostasis. Thus further knowledge in this area may lead to the development of new agents for the treatment of cancer.