Improving our understanding and detection of lung cancer cachexia

Lung cancer is a common form of cancer and responsible for the majority of cancer deaths. Cachexia is a syndrome often associated with lung cancer, in which patients experience involuntary loss of muscle and fatty tissue (mass). This syndrome often accelerates during chemoradiotherapy (CRT), the standard treatment for stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Conversely, the presence of cachexia increases the risk of cancer therapy side effects, requiring discontinuation and reducing its efficacy. This project aims to unravel cellular processes and dynamics of tissue loss during CRT in lung cancer, as a necessary step towards a better understanding of lung cancer cachexia and more sensitive methods to detect it at an early stage.

Because obtaining tissue from patients with cachexia is very difficult, in this project we also use mice in which lung cancer is induced. In this mouse 'model', research can be done on tissue, and it is possible to painlessly monitor lung tumor growth and muscle mass reduction - which has great similarities with the patient - using special imaging techniques ('microCT scans'). The first goal of the project is to use the latest laboratory analysis techniques to measure changes in tissue cells that precede tissue loss. In addition, artificial intelligence will be applied to the CT scan analysis to visualize tissue loss over the entire body (goal 2), and to detect changes in tissue characteristics on CT scans that correspond to the tissue analyses from the lab (goal-3). Finally, these newly developed artificial intelligence 'networks' will be adapted for sensitive detection, and possibly prediction, of cachexia from patient CT scans (goal-4).

The new insights and imaging technology resulting from this project will allow cachexia to be measured more sensitively and in an early phase, which will contribute to better treatment for patients with NSCLC.