How Cancer Weakens Muscles

Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels

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A new study published in Nature Cancer has found that tumors can damage blood vessels in muscles—even when those muscles are nowhere near the tumor. The discovery sheds light on why many cancer patients and survivors experience debilitating muscle weakness.

Muscle loss, or cachexia, is a common and often severe side effect of cancer. Until now, much of the research has focused on poor nutrition, inflammation, and tumor-related metabolic changes as possible causes. But scientists from the University of Illinois Chicago, led by Dr. Jalees Rehman, have discovered that cancer may also impair the blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to muscles.

"Healthy blood vessels ensure proper delivery of oxygen and nutrients throughout the body," the study explains. "But when blood vessels are unhealthy, they can become leaky, disrupting circulation and starving tissues of nourishment."