Cancer cachexia is a progressive functional disorder that cannot be completely reversed with normal nutritional support. It is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by a persistent loss of skeletal muscle mass (with or without fat loss), and anamorelin is the only medicine approved for the treatment of cancer cachexia in Japan.
We have previously found that nalfurafine hydrochloride (our development code TRK-820), which is used as a treatment for pruritus refractory to existing therapies for dialysis and chronic liver disease, increased food intake and body weight and improved muscle weakness in a mouse model of non-small cell lung cancer inoculated with A549 cells. These results suggest that TRK-820 is a potential therapeutic agent for cancer cachexia. This presentation will discuss the efficacy of TRK-820 in treating cancer cachexia in animal models and detail the mechanisms currently known.