Differential impact of cancer- and chemotherapy-induced cachexia: a comparative analysis in a pre-clinical model of colorectal cancer by biological sex

Although biological sex differences in the progression of cancer cachexia have been increasingly recognized, their role during chemotherapy-induced cachexia remains largely unexplored. Here, we aimed to evaluate those differences using male and female mice implanted subcutaneously with Colon-26 (C26) allografts.

We employed a novel approach to disentangle the effects of chemotherapy by administering two cycles of 75% of the maximum tolerated dose of 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, or paclitaxel, in the presence (C26) and absence of cancer (PBS). Gastrocnemius muscle were collected 25 days following tumor implant, and gene expression through RNA sequencing was evaluated.