Mechanisms of chemotherapy‐induced muscle wasting in mice with cancer cachexia

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundCachexia is a debilitating complication of cancer characterized by progressive wasting and weakness of skeletal muscles that reduces quality of life and can compromise survival. Many anticancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, also cause muscle wasting, which impairs the response to treatment. Given that many cancer patients present with cachexia at the initiation of treatment, we investigated whether cachectic mice were susceptible to chemotherapy‐induced muscle wasting and to investigate contributing mechanisms, including the dysregulation of microRNAs (miRs).MethodsCachectic colon‐26 (C‐26) tumour‐bearing mice were given 5‐fluourouracil (5‐FU) chemotherapy or vehicle tr..