HOST METABOLISM - A TARGET IN CLINICAL ONCOLOGY

The presence of the tumour induces important metabolic changes in the cancer patient which are not merely due to the fact that the tumour ac ts as a parasite, thus depleting the host of nutrients, but that are m ainly the result of both tumoral and humoral mediators. The new metabo lic status of the cancer patient may lead to cancer cachexia (a pathol ogical state characterized by weight loss together with anorexia, weak ness, anaemia and asthenia) which represents one of the worst effects of malignancy, accounting for nearly a third of cancer deaths. The com plications associated with the appearance of the cachectic syndrome af fect both the physiological and biochemical balance of the patient and have effects on the efficiency of the anticancer treatment, resulting in a considerably decreased survival time. At the metabolic level, ca chexia is associated with loss of skeletal muscle protein together wit h a depletion of body lipid stores. The present study emphasizes the f act that neutralizing some of the metabolic changes in the patient may be an essential therapeutic strategy in controlling tumour growth and improving survival.