Stopping muscle wasting in pancreatic cancer-related cachexia
Official title: Project 2 NF-#B regulation in muscle wasting and pancreatic cancer-induced cachexia
Funded at Medical University of South Carolina · NIH-11144579 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Testing ways to block a cell-signaling pathway to help people with pancreatic cancer who are losing muscle and weight.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medical University of South Carolina NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charleston, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2021 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $440,884 |
| NIH project number | 5P01CA236778-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11144579 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who are experiencing or at high risk for cancer-associated cachexia (significant involuntary weight or muscle loss) would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without cancer-related cachexia or whose weight loss stems from non-inflammatory causes may not directly benefit from the approaches studied here.
What this research studies
From my perspective as a patient, this project looks at why people with pancreatic cancer lose muscle and fat and become very weak. Researchers are focusing on a signaling pathway called NF-κB (part of a larger NF-κB/IL-6/STAT3 network) that seems to drive muscle stem cells into a damaging repair response. The team will use laboratory and tumor models and molecular studies to pinpoint how this pathway causes wasting and to find targets that drugs could act on. Experts in muscle biology, cancer, and immunology are working together to translate these findings toward treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to therapies that reduce or prevent muscle and weight loss in people with pancreatic cancer, improving treatment tolerance and outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Laboratory and animal studies have linked NF-κB and IL-6/STAT3 signaling to muscle wasting and shown promise when these pathways are blocked, but effective patient treatments have not yet been established.
Where this research is happening
-
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Guttridge, Denis C — Medical University of South Carolina
- Study coordinator: Guttridge, Denis C
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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How the liver's ketone production affects muscle loss and recovery in pancreatic cancer
This project looks at whether helping the liver make ketones can prevent muscle wasting and aid recovery for people with pancreatic cancer.
-
How the body's environment drives weight and muscle loss in pancreatic cancer
Seeing if targeting inflammatory signals around pancreatic tumors can reduce severe weight and muscle loss in people with pancreatic cancer.
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Understanding how liver metabolism affects muscle loss in pancreatic cancer patients
This study is looking at how liver function affects weight loss and muscle wasting in people with pancreatic cancer, hoping to find new ways to help improve their health and quality of life.
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Understanding how cancer affects muscle loss and weight in patients
This study is looking into why some cancer patients, especially those with pancreatic cancer, lose a lot of weight and how we can find better ways to help them manage this issue, so if you join, you could help us learn more about improving health during treatment.
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Understanding how the environment affects weight loss in pancreatic cancer patients
This study is looking into why some cancer patients, especially those with pancreatic cancer, experience severe weight loss and aims to find new ways to help them feel better and maintain their weight.
-
Understanding how liver metabolism affects weight loss in pancreatic cancer patients
This study is looking at how pancreatic cancer causes severe weight loss and is trying to find ways to change liver function to help patients keep their weight and feel better.
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.