An experimental lung cancer treatment has shown promise in reducing tumours and limiting muscle and weight loss associated with the disease in mice, researchers at Oregon State University have reported.

The treatment uses tiny fat-based particles to deliver messenger RNA (mRNA) into tumours, instructing cells to produce follistatin, a protein involved in muscle growth. The findings, published in the Journal of Controlled Release, could offer a new approach to tackling cancer cachexia, a condition that causes severe muscle and body weight loss in people with advanced cancer, sometimes despite adequate food intake.

Cachexia can leave patients weak and reduce their ability to tolerate cancer treatment.

To develop the experimental therapy, researchers designed the particles to attach to vitronectin, a protein naturally found in the blood, helping direct them towards lung tumours rather than allowing them to accumulate mainly in the liver.

After injecting the particles into mice with lung cancer, the team found that those receiving the tumour-targeting treatment had a greater reduction in tumour burden than animals given particles designed to deliver their contents mainly to the liver.

The treated mice also ate more, maintained more body weight and retained more muscle and fat during the study. The researchers believe that delivering follistatin directly to tumours could help address both tumour growth and the physical wasting associated with cancer.

However, the treatment has not been tested in humans, and the findings in mice do not establish whether it would be safe or effective in patients. Further studies are needed before human clinical trials can be considered.

Cancer cachexia remains difficult to manage because controlling tumour growth does not necessarily prevent the loss of muscle and body fat. The researchers are investigating whether targeted delivery of follistatin could help tackle both problems.

The study was supported by the National Cancer Institute, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.