# PQ6: Therapeutic approaches for autonomic and neuroendocrine dysfunction in cancer cachexia

> **NIH NIH R01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $424,120

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Illness behaviors, metabolic disturbances, and cardiovascular compromise are common in patients with
chronic systemic diseases, and contribute substantially to quality of life and ultimate survival. Other illness-
induced morbidities including anorexia and lethargy also compromise the ability of patients to recover from life-
saving or extending interventions, and diminish the motivational drive to aggressively battle the underlying
condition. Although cachexia in cancer patients was described more than two thousand years ago, the central
mechanisms underlying this disorder are poorly understood. Furthermore, there is currently no effective
pharmaceutical treatment. Cardiovascular impairment is common in all chronic diseases, and can be a
presenting complaint in cancer patients, even prior to initiation of therapy. Our laboratory is dedicated to
unraveling the basic mechanisms whereby cancer triggers neuroinflammation and subsequent chronic
activation of systemic stress responses in patients with cancer. In this proposal, we will focus on understanding
the scope and mechanism by which systemic illness induces chronic activation and alteration in the
sympathetic nervous system. The significance of this proposal resides in its unique combination of our
historical focus on neuroendocrinology and neuroinflammation, with new collaborations and efforts directed at
understanding the extent and mechanisms of cardiovascular impairment and sympathetic nervous system
plasticity in patients with cancer. The long-term goal of our research is to gain mechanistic understanding of
the acute illness response and how it is transitioned into chronic neuroinflammation in all cancer types, in order
to develop more effective therapeutic interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10490306
- **Project number:** 5R01CA264133-02
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel L. Marks
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $424,120
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-10 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10490306

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10490306, PQ6: Therapeutic approaches for autonomic and neuroendocrine dysfunction in cancer cachexia (5R01CA264133-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10490306. Licensed CC0.

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