ONE THIRD OF CANCER PATIENTS ARE KILLED BY A 'FAT-BURNING' PROCESS KNOWN AS CACHEXIA 

The Genes, Development and Disease Group led by Erwin Wagner, head of the BBVA Foundation-CNIO Cancer Cell Biology Programme at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), has uncovered that cachexia -extreme thinness and weakness that leads to death in one third of cancer patients- is triggered by a process thoroughly studied in the fight against obesity: the conversion of white fat into brown fat.
The researchers also argue that reducing the transformation of fat tissue can improve the symptoms of cachexia. This approach can be used to develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat cancer.
These results have been published in the journal 'Cell Metabolism'.
For further information about Erwin Wagner's Group at CNIO:
www.cnio.es/es/...