Cachexie cancéreuse : bases physiopathologiquesCancer cachexia: physiopathology

Cachexia is a complex syndrome characterized by a decrease in nutritional intake and specific metabolic abnormalities in the host. Anorexia is a multifactorial phenomenon mainly of unknown origin which is not related to an increase in leptin level. Metabolic alterations in the host include an inconstant and weak hypermetabolism and specific perturbations in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. Skeletal muscle wasting is the main feature of cachexia. There is a consensus on the view that muscle wasting is related not only to muscle catabolism but also to a decrease in the synthesis of new myofibrils and muscle proteins. Muscle protein catabolism is mainly related to an increase in ubiquitin-proteasom pathway by the cachectic factor PIF (Proteolysis inducing factor). Better understanding of the mechanisms of cachexia offers new targets for the development of specific therapeutic approach of cachexia.