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Diminished visceral adipose tissue in cancer cachexia
H Ogiwara1, S Takahashi, Y Kato
1Department of Surgery, Nerima General Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Journal of Surgical Oncology
|October 1, 1994
Summary
Cancer cachexia is linked to a reduced visceral adipose tissue (AT) area. This study found significantly smaller visceral AT in cachectic patients compared to controls, suggesting AT is not preserved in cancer cachexia.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Metabolism
- Radiology
Background:
- Cancer cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome.
- Visceral adipose tissue (AT) plays a role in metabolic regulation.
- Understanding visceral AT changes in cancer cachexia is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between visceral AT area and cancer cachexia.
- To compare visceral AT area in cachectic cancer patients versus controls and non-cachectic cancer patients.
Main Methods:
- Computed tomography (CT) scanning was used to measure visceral AT area.
- 13 cachectic cancer patients were compared to control subjects and cancer patients with resectable tumors.
Main Results:
- Cachectic cancer patients exhibited a significantly smaller visceral AT area compared to control subjects (P = 0.014).
- No significant difference in visceral AT area was found between cachectic patients and those with resectable tumors (P = 0.206).
- A trend towards smaller visceral AT area was observed in cachectic patients compared to those with resectable tumors.
Conclusions:
- Visceral AT area is significantly reduced in cancer cachexia.
- Visceral AT is not preserved in the cachectic state associated with cancer.
- Further research is warranted to explore the implications of visceral AT depletion in cancer patients.