Testing times: Dr Paul Lewandowski inspects one of the treatments showing promise for treating an often-fatal cancer symptom. Picture: Tommy Ritchie 52736
Erin Pearson
GEELONG researchers are close to developing treatments for a muscle-wasting condition killing one in five cancer victims, according to their team leader.
Deakin University’s Dr Paul Lewandowski said the world-first study was investigating the effect on two already-available therapies on the condition, called cancer cachexia.
The team believed the therapies, based on an omega 3 fatty acid and an anti-gout medication, could delay the onset of cachexia in cancer patients, Dr Lewandowski said.
He described the condition was “a serious, debilitating and often-unrecognised health issue” that was often fatal.
“Many of us have watched a loved one waste away because of cancer. Our hope is that the treatment we are working on will delay the onset of cachexia or slow down its progression.”
Dr Lewandowski said a pre-study had already returned “promising” results.
“We’ve been working on this for the past three years doing two things: setting up models and trying to understand what happens at a cellular level,” he said.
“We have data that shows there is an increase in free radicals in skeletal muscles as well as in the heart muscle and we’re now looking at antioxidants to decrease the level of free radicals.
“That’s a real advantage because the treatment would mean people who are suffering from cancer cachexia would have more time to respond to treatment.”
Dr Lewandowski said the absence of effective treatment for cachexia inhibited the success of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
The condition was particularly dangerous for elderly cancer victims because it caused “serious weight loss and muscle wastage”, he said.
Around 50 per cent of cancer patients developed the condition.
“One in three of us will develop cancer, so one in six Australians will suffer from the condition,” Dr Lewandowksi he said.
“Approximately 20 per cent of cancer deaths are thought to be due to cachexia and not the cancer itself.
“This could buy time for other cancer therapies to have an effect.”
Dr Lewandowski’s team also includes Deakin PhD students Eddie Hinch and Vanessa Vaughan, postdoctoral fellow Melanie Sullivan-Gunn and Bar-won Health regional director of palliative care associate professor Peter Martin.
