Cancer cachexia: a manifestation of hypersensitivity?

More than thirty years ago, as a corollary of the experimental analysis of the systemic hypersensitivity reaction, it was postulated that the general symptoms of tuberculous patients may be due to the action of the specific antigen upon the sensitized host. The same hypothesis can be extrapolated in order to interpret some hitherto unexplained findings that are observed in cancer hosts, as well as organ transplant recipients.