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Cancer cachexia update in head and neck cancer: Pathophysiology and treatment
Author(s) -
Couch Marion E.,
Dittus Kim,
Toth Michael J.,
Willis Monte S.,
Guttridge Denis C.,
George Jonathan R.,
Chang Eric Y.,
Gourin Christine G.,
DerTorossian Hirak
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.23696
Subject(s) - medicine , cachexia , head and neck cancer , cancer , clinical trial , pathophysiology , randomized controlled trial , wasting , bioinformatics , cancer cachexia , cochrane library , oncology , intensive care medicine , biology
The pathophysiology of cancer cachexia remains complex. A comprehensive literature search was performed up to April 2013 using PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the Google search engine. In this review, we focus on the different mediators of impaired anabolism and upregulated catabolism that alter the skeletal muscle homeostasis resulting in the wasting of cancer cachexia. We present recent evidence of targeted treatment modalities from clinical trials along with their potential mechanisms of action. We also report on the most current evidence from randomized clinical trials using multimodal treatments in patients with cancer cachexia, but also the evidence from head and neck cancer‐specific trials. A more complete understanding of the pathophysiology of the syndrome may lead to more effective targeted therapies and improved outcomes for patients. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1057–1072, 2015