Cachexia and muscular changes in cancer-induced cachexia assayed in a xenograft model using non-small cell lung carcinoma cells A549.

Cachexia is a syndrome that frequently occurs in cancer patients and mainly affects skeletal muscle mass. Despite being extensively studied in recent decades, experimental designs are concentrated in a few consolidated models. Lung cancer is one of the most common in the world, and muscle mass loss is one of its main characteristics. A549 is a human cell line of lung cancer, and has been used in xenograft models in mice. However, there are no studies that evaluate loss of muscle mass in this model and consequently the installation of cachexia.