Glycerol dynamics in weight-losing cancer patients

This study was designed to show whether weight-losing cancer patients have an elevated glycerol turnover. Four groups of patients were examined: weight-losing cancer patients, weight-losing patients without cancer, cancer patients without weight loss, and weight-stable and well-nourished hospitalized control patients. Glycerol was infused intravenously at three different rates (200, 400, and 800 mumol/hr/kg body weight) after an overnight fast. This allowed measurement of clearance and plasma glycerol turnover. Weight-losing cancer patients (group 1) had an almost threefold higher glycerol turnover per kilogram of body weight compared with malnourished and well-nourished noncancer patients. However, both malnourished cancer and noncancer patients had an elevated glycerol turnover compared with well-nourished patients when glycerol turnover was related to whole body lipids. The results how that progressive clinical cancer is associated with an elevated plasma glycerol turnover, probably indicating an increased whole body lipolysis. This may explain the loss of body fat during the development of cancer cachexia.