A questionnaire study of the approach to the anorexia–cachexia syndrome in patients with cancer by staff in a district general hospital

Churm, Deepta; Andrew, Inga; Holden, Keith; Hildreth, Anthony; Hawkins, C. Morton

doi:10.1007/s00520-008-0486-1

Cited by 50 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Witnessing the despair communicated by a tearful carer in words like 'he just won't eat' or the fear expressed by a patient who says 'I don't understand why I can't eat' can evoke powerful emotions such as feelings of helplessness (Hopkinson et al, 2006). Few health professionals assess or actively manage weight loss, poor appetite and other symptoms associated with cancer cachexia syndrome (Churm et al, 2009;Porter et al, 2012). This is perhaps unsurprising given the absence of medical treatment options and the distress and other negative emotions the symptoms can evoke.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Food connections: A qualitative exploratory study of weight- and eating-related distress in families affected by advanced cancer

Hopkinson

2016

European Journal of Oncology Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Food connections: A qualitative exploratory study of weight- and eating-related distress in families affected by advanced cancer

Hopkinson

2016

European Journal of Oncology Nursing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Cachexia affects ~50% of all cancer patients, may account for ~20%–25% of all cancer deaths, and is one of the primary causes of asthenia, respiratory complications, poor response to chemotherapy, increased susceptibility to infection, and poor quality of life [6,7]. However, weight loss in patients with cancer is rarely recognized, assessed [8], or managed actively [9]. In short, cancer cachexia requires more attention and should be counteracted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Cancer Cachexia Attributed to Impairments in Basal or Postprandial Muscle Protein Metabolism?

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cachexia is a significant clinical problem associated with very poor quality of life, reduced treatment tolerance and outcomes, and a high mortality rate. Mechanistically, any sizeable loss of skeletal muscle mass must be underpinned by a structural imbalance between muscle protein synthesis and breakdown rates. Recent data indicate that the loss of muscle mass with aging is, at least partly, attributed to a blunted muscle protein synthetic response to protein feeding. Whether such anabolic resistance is also evident in conditions where cachexia is present remains to be addressed. Only few data are available on muscle protein synthesis and breakdown rates in vivo in cachectic cancer patients. When calculating the theoretical changes in basal or postprandial fractional muscle protein synthesis and breakdown rates that would be required to lose 5% of body weight within a six-month period, we can define the changes that would need to occur to explain the muscle mass loss observed in cachectic patients. If changes in both post-absorptive and postprandial muscle protein synthesis and breakdown rates contribute to the loss of muscle mass, it would take alterations as small as 1%–2% to induce a more than 5% decline in body weight. Therefore, when trying to define impairments in basal and/or postprandial muscle protein synthesis or breakdown rates using contemporary stable isotope methodology in cancer cachexia, we need to select large homogenous groups of cancer patients (>40 patients) to allow us to measure physiological and clinically relevant differences in muscle protein synthesis and/or breakdown rates. Insight into impairments in basal or postprandial muscle protein synthesis and breakdown rates in cancer cachexia is needed to design more targeted nutritional, pharmaceutical and/or physical activity interventions to preserve skeletal muscle mass and, as such, to reduce the risk of complications, improve quality of life, and lower mortality rates during the various stages of the disease.

show abstract

“…Importantly, cachexia not only affects the patient, but also their families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, who often experience emotions of fright and hopelessness as they try to palliate symptoms by feeding the patients (Reid et al 2009). The emotional distress experienced by healthcare professionals and nihilism regarding the effectiveness of cachexia treatment frequently block conversation about weight loss, which makes even the discussion of cachexia a taboo (Booth et al 1996, Parle et al 1997, Churm et al 2009. In this review, we will highlight the mechanistic foundation of cancer cachexia, the knowledge of which has started to change the current nihilistic therapeutic approach to this devastating condition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms of cancer cachexia

Mendes

Pimentel

Costa

et al. 2015

Journal of Endocrinology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cancer and its morbidities, such as cancer cachexia, constitute a major public health problem. Although cancer cachexia has afflicted humanity for centuries, its underlying multifactorial and complex physiopathology has hindered the understanding of its mechanism. During the last few decades we have witnessed a dramatic increase in the understanding of cancer cachexia pathophysiology. Anorexia and muscle and adipose tissue wasting are the main features of cancer cachexia. These apparently independent symptoms have humoral factors secreted by the tumor as a common cause. Importantly, the hypothalamus has emerged as an organ that senses the peripheral signals emanating from the tumoral environment, and not only elicits anorexia but also contributes to the development of muscle and adipose tissue loss. Herein, we review the roles of factors secreted by the tumor and its effects on the hypothalamus, muscle and adipose tissue, as well as highlighting the key targets that are being exploited for cancer cachexia treatment.

show abstract

A questionnaire study of the approach to the anorexia–cachexia syndrome in patients with cancer by staff in a district general hospital

Cited by 50 publications

References 10 publications

Food connections: A qualitative exploratory study of weight- and eating-related distress in families affected by advanced cancer

Food connections: A qualitative exploratory study of weight- and eating-related distress in families affected by advanced cancer

Is Cancer Cachexia Attributed to Impairments in Basal or Postprandial Muscle Protein Metabolism?

Molecular and neuroendocrine mechanisms of cancer cachexia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About