# Sex-dependent rescue of cancer cachexia

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF IOWA · 2021 · $397,258

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cachexia is a multi-factorial syndrome accompanying cancer, with the most notable symptom being unintentional
weight loss due to a depletion of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue mass. Cachexia affects approximately 50%
of all cancer patients, and nearly all patients with advanced disease. While it is difficult to quantify the number of
patient deaths that result directly from cachexia, it is clear that cancer cachexia is a significant contributor to
negative outcomes of cancer patients. This is particularly true for patients with gastrointestinal cancers, such as
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients have both the highest incidence
and severity of disease-associated weight loss.
Published data, including our own, have consistently shown that male and female PDAC patients have similar
incidence and severity of cachexia. However, our preliminary data suggest that while relative weight loss may
be equivalent between males and females, there is a striking difference between these two groups. While
cachectic males appear to lose skeletal muscle mass in proportion to their total body weight losses, cachectic
females may instead lose weight primarily due to adipose tissue loss. Furthermore, we hypothesize that males
and females respond differently to anti-cachexia treatment, including ghrelin receptor antagonization. This
proposal seeks to test our hypothesis of a sexual dimorphism in cancer cachexia and response to anti-cachexia
treatment using a combination of retrospective clinical analyses and mouse modeling.
Completing the proposed research will have a significant impact on our understanding of sexual dimorphisms in
cancer cachexia and response to anti-cachexia treatment. If our hypothesis is correct, our findings would alter
how anti-cachexia clinical trials are designed and how future therapeutics are used clinically.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10173994
- **Project number:** 1R21CA257972-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
- **Principal Investigator:** Erin E Talbert
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $397,258
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-15 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10173994

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10173994, Sex-dependent rescue of cancer cachexia (1R21CA257972-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10173994. Licensed CC0.

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