# The CANcer Cachexia Action Network (CANCAN): a Multidisciplinary Virtual Institute with the Mission to Cure Cancer Cachexia

> **NIH NIH OT2** · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $570,945

## Abstract

Abstract
Background
Cancer cachexia (CC) is a systemic, metabolic wasting syndrome featuring body weight loss due to
skeletal muscle and adipose tissue wasting. CC is suffered by ~80% of cancer patients that causes
reduced performance status, intolerance to chemotherapy, and increased mortality. This debilitating
condition is poorly understood and has no effective treatment. If CC therapy existed, it would
improve treatment responses, increase quality of life, and prolong survival. With 50 years of study,
the field has focused on defining pathways that promote atrophy in the end-organs most affected my
cachexia. While this work has been fruitful, it has not led to identification of the upstream mediators
of CC, nor has it generated effective therapies. There is an urgent need for high-quality discovery
science and more detailed clinical phenotyping.We have created a virtual institute comprised of
diverse, international, multidisciplinary scientists and clinicians with expertise in cancer, metabolism,
neuroendocrine function, immunology, human metabolic diseases, preclinical models, and clinical
phenotyping. We hypothesize that CC is driven by tumor-intrinsic factors that activate neurohormonal
sickness pathways, which then induce anorexia, metabolic dysfunction, and tissue atrophy.
Aims
Project 1 - Identification of cancer-induced systemic metabolic dysregulation.
Project 2 - Determination of tumor-immune drivers of cachexia.
Project 3 - Defining the neuroendocrine response to cancer.
Project 4 - Identification of clinical cachexia subtypes.
Methods
Our approach involves sophisticated measures of host-tumor interactions including innovative
investigation of (1) systemic metabolic flux in mice using isotope tracing, imaging mass spectroscopy,
dynamic nuclear imaging, and dietary and pharmacologic interventions; (2) cellular components and
secreted factors from the tumor microenvironment using imaging mass cytometry, patient-derived
organoid xenografts, microbial toxins, and CRISPR-based manipulations; (3) central pathways
regulating appetite, behavior, and peripheral organ metabolism using human metabolic phenotyping,
optogenetic, and pharmacological methods. We will perform the largest, most comprehensive
observational study in CC subjects to thoroughly define CC subtypes and their clinical biomarkers
using epidemiologic tools, novel image segmentation algorithms, and cluster analyses.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11163814
- **Project number:** 1OT2CA301505-01
- **Recipient organization:** NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Marcus DaSilva Goncalves
- **Activity code:** OT2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $570,945
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11163814

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11163814, The CANcer Cachexia Action Network (CANCAN): a Multidisciplinary Virtual Institute with the Mission to Cure Cancer Cachexia (1OT2CA301505-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11163814. Licensed CC0.

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