Cancer cachexia: Muscle physiology and exercise training

Abstract

Cachexia in cancer patients is a condition marked by severe tissue wasting and a myriad of quality of life and health consequences. Cachexia is also directly linked to the issues of morbidity and survivability in cancer patients. Therapeutic means of mitigating cachexia and its effects are thus critical in cancer patient treatment. We present a discussion on the use of physical exercise activities in the context of such treatment as a means to disruption the tissue wasting effects (i.e., muscle tissue losses via anorexigenic pro-inflammatory cytokines) of cachexia. In addition we propose a theoretical model (Exercise Anti-Cachectic Hypothetical-"EACH" model) as to how exercise training may promote a disruption in the cycle of events leading to advancing cachexia and in turn promote an enhanced functionality and thus improved quality of life in cancer patients. © 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.