Many people with cancer experience dramatic loss of muscle and fat tissue. In many cases, even the heart muscle is affected, which further weakens the body. This wasting syndrome, known as cachexia, affects around half of all cancer patients. It is a major cause of therapy resistance, complications, and increased mortality.

Researchers from Helmholtz Munich, in collaboration with Heidelberg University Hospital, the Technical University of Munich, and the German Center for Diabetes Research have now identified a previously overlooked driver of cachexia: the liver. It responds systemically to tumors in other organs—such as the intestine or pancreas—and contributes to tissue wasting by releasing specific signaling molecules.

The study is published in the journal Cell.