Abstract
As a multifactorial and multiorgan syndrome, cancer cachexia is associated with decreased tolerance to antitumor treatments and increased morbidity and mortality rates. The current approaches for the treatment of this syndrome are not always effective and well established. Drug repurposing or repositioning consists of the investigation of pharmacological components that are already available or in clinical trials for certain diseases and explores if they can be used for new indications. Its advantages comparing to de novo drugs development are the reduced amount of time spent and costs. In this paper, we selected drugs already available or in clinical trials for non-cachexia indications and that are related to the pathways and molecular components involved in the different phenotypes of cancer cachexia syndrome. Thus, we introduce known drugs as possible candidates for drug repurposing in the treatment of cancer-induced cachexia.
Highlights
In order to retrieve the cachexia’s phenotypes and the molecular pathways and components involved in each one, we searched for review papers on PubMed regarding the pathophysiology of cancer cachexia
Since inflammation is a key factor in the development of cachexia, blocking the synthesis or action of pro-inflammatory mediators to treat or ameliorate cachexia in cancer patients has been attempted with mixed results [12]
From all the drugs obtained in the drug-target interaction databases regarding the inflammation process in cancer-related cachexia (Table 2), we will only describe in more detail the ones with reported side effects and are in more advance stages of clinical development and relevant information
Summary
Cachexia is a syndrome that involves different tissues and metabolic pathways, and it is related with poor prognosis in cancer patients. Asthenia, sarcopenia, and anaemia are present features in cancer cachexia along with a reduction of response to anabolic signals, domination of a catabolic state, energy expenditure imbalance, and systemic inflammation. Adipose tissue, and skeletal muscle are the results of these systemic actions [1]. According to the international consensus published in 2011, cancer cachexia is defined by ≥5% weight loss in the previous 6 months or weight loss ≥ 2% with either a body 4.0/).
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