Mouse models of cancer-induced cachexia: Hind limb muscle mass and evoked force as readouts.

The majority of patients with advanced cancer suffer from cachexia, a systemic wasting syndrome, which subsequently impacts the tolerance to anti-cancer treatments, response to therapy, quality of life, and eventually, survival. Despite a high unmet medical need, there is currently no specific remedy available for an effective treatment of cachexia and its sequelae. A key feature of cachexia is the inexorable loss of skeletal muscle mass, which constitutes a main contributor to body weight loss and progressive functional impairments. Therefore, it's crucial to identify early readouts to detect and monitor the loss of muscle mass and function to initiate appropriate treatments timely.