How DNA link could unlock mystery of cancer patients ‘wasting away’

New research into sudden weight loss finds a possible cause of cachexia in cancer patients and Cockayne syndrome in children

One of the most serious impacts of cancer is the sudden loss of weight, appetite, and muscle that can hit some patients in the later stages of the disease. This wasting syndrome is known as cachexia and it can be triggered in other serious conditions, including heart disease and HIV.

In addition, an inherited version of extreme wasting syndromes can affect children. Known as Cockayne syndrome, it causes them to suffer severe malnutrition and wasting that parallels the effect of cachexia.