Blocking RANKL to prevent muscle and bone loss in cancer cachexia
Official title: Targeting RANKL for the treatment of muscle and bone defects in cachexia
Funded at University of Colorado Denver · NIH-11229603 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests whether blocking a protein called RANKL can help people with cancer avoid losing muscle and bone.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado Denver NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | December 10, 2022 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $358,910 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AR079379-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11229603 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with advanced cancer who have unintentional weight loss, muscle wasting, or evidence of bone loss, especially patients with ovarian cancer where elevated RANKL has been observed.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose muscle or weight loss is driven by factors unrelated to RANKL (or who have no signs of bone loss) may be unlikely to benefit from RANKL-targeted approaches.
What this research studies
Researchers are looking at whether high levels of RANKL, a protein that promotes bone breakdown, also drive muscle wasting in people with cancer. They compare blood and bone markers like RANKL and CTX-I from patients with experiments in mice and lab-grown muscle cells. In animal models they plan to block RANKL and measure effects on bone mass, muscle size, strength, and cell survival, and they compare tumors that make lots of RANKL with those that do not. The team hopes findings will show whether RANKL-blocking treatments used for bone disease could also protect muscle during cancer-related weight loss.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to treatments that preserve both muscle and bone in people with cancer-related cachexia, improving strength and quality of life.
How similar studies have gone: Drugs that block RANKL, such as denosumab, are already effective at preventing bone loss and fractures, but using RANKL blockade specifically to prevent muscle wasting in cancer is a newer and less-tested idea.
Where this research is happening
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University of Colorado Denver
Aurora, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bonetto, Andrea — University of Colorado Denver
- Study coordinator: Bonetto, Andrea
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Mitochondrial pores and muscle loss in cancer cachexia
A small US-based study will explore how changes in mitochondria contribute to muscle wasting in people with cancer cachexia and how this may be slowed.
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CANCAN: A Virtual Institute to Cure Cancer Cachexia
A broad, collaborative NIH initiative aims to uncover why cancer patients lose weight and muscle and to develop new ways to treat this serious condition.
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Adipose tissue and its role in lung cancer cachexia
A new NIH grant explores how fat tissue around the body may feed lung cancer growth and drive weight loss, with the aim of finding ways to help patients who struggle with cancer cachexia.
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Spatial metabolism mapping in cancer cachexia tissues
Aims to map where and how metabolism changes in tissues affected by cancer cachexia using advanced imaging technology.
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Innate inflammatory control of cachexia in chronic disease
A research team is studying how inflammation drives cachexia in chronic disease using a parasite model to find therapies that could protect lean body mass without raising infection risk.
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Nuclear receptors that may stop muscle wasting in cancer
This grant explores whether activating specific muscle-regulating receptors can prevent muscle loss in cancer patients.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.