Defining and Addressing Research Priorities in Cancer Cachexia through Transdisciplinary Collaboration

Simple Summary Cachexia occurs in up to 80% of patients with cancer. Although cancer-associated cachexia dramatically decreases overall survival and quality of life, it is often overlooked. To make meaningful progress in identifying cancer cachexia earlier and finding treatments for this condition, Moffitt Cancer Center held its first Cachexia Working Group Retreat in 2022. This manuscript describes the priorities discussed at the retreat and highlights collaborations that arose afterward.Abstract For many patients, the cancer continuum includes a syndrome known as cancer-associated cachexia (CAC), which encompasses the unintended loss of body weight and muscle mass, and is often associated with fat loss, decreased appetite, lower tolerance and poorer response to treatment, poor quality of life, and reduced survival. Unfortunately, there are no effective therapeutic interventions to completely reverse cancer cachexia and no FDA-approved pharmacologic agents; hence, new approaches are urgently needed. In May of 2022, researchers and clinicians from Moffitt Cancer Center held an inaugural retreat on CAC that aimed to review the state of the science, identify knowledge gaps and research priorities, and foster transdisciplinary collaborative research projects. This review summarizes research priorities that emerged from the retreat, examples of ongoing collaborations, and opportunities to move science forward. The highest priorities identified include the need to (1) evaluate patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures obtained in clinical practice and assess their use in improving CAC-related outcomes; (2) identify biomarkers (imaging, molecular, and/or behavioral) and novel analytic approaches to accurately predict the early onset of CAC and its progression; and (3) develop and test interventions (pharmacologic, nutritional, exercise-based, and through mathematical modeling) to prevent CAC progression and improve associated symptoms and outcomes.