Cancer consumes body fat and muscle by itself, in a process called cancer cachexia, which is the direct cause behind about 1/5 of all cancer deaths. The underlying mechanisms are diverse, but in a nutshell, the cancer cells come up with ways to conjure fat deposits and muscle tissue into breaking down and releasing fatty acids, membrane components and other scarce building blocks that otherwise limit their growth rate, straight into the blood stream.
Strikingly, it is not possible to revert by any amount of dietary supplements or IV nutrition once the cachexia is manifest. Also, there is not even that much correlation to the tumor burden – small tumors with tiny metastases can cause its host to waste away completely. The latter is especially sad as that kind of emaciation quickly renders an otherwise highly treatable patient (that could have gained a couple of good years) ineligible for any treatments we have to offer. Because of this, considerable efforts are directed at finding treatments for cachexia in itself, which, in theory, could improve treatability, survival times and quality of life quite considerably for lots of cancer patients.
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