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Drug breakthrough offers new hope for cancer patients with cachexia
Researchers have developed a drug that safely and effectively helps cancer patients suffering from cachexia, a common condition associated with cancer in which there is a loss of body weight and muscle wasting.
The results of a randomized phase 2 clinical trial involving 187 people with cachexia due to lung, pancreatic, or colorectal cancer were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in September 2024. Richard Dunne, MD, professor of medicine, an oncologist at Wilmot Cancer Institute and an expert in cachexia, was part of a large team of researchers conducting a nationwide clinical trial.
Cachexia is accompanied by loss of appetite and weight, muscle wasting, fatigue and weakness. It affects more than 50 percent of people with cancer, and there are currently no FDA-approved treatments.
Researchers found that the drug poncegromab blocks the hormone GDF-15, which regulates appetite and body weight. The patients in the study had elevated levels of GDF-15, which is a major cause of cachexia. Poncegromab is a type of drug known as a monoclonal antibody, and in this study, it improved many aspects of cachexia and its components. According to Dunn, side effects were minimal, and in fact, poncegromab appeared to be safer than the usual appetite stimulants that cachexia patients use.
Drug manufacturer Pfizer supported the study and said of the news.
“This is very exciting. This study is an important step in providing treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients who suffer from a poor quality of life due to cachexia,” oncologists said.
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