Exercise for cancer cachexia in adults.

Background: Cancer cachexia is a multi-factorial syndrome characterised by an ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass, with or without a loss of fat mass, which leads to progressive functional impairment. Physical exercise may attenuate the effects of cancer cachexia via several mechanisms, including the modulation of muscle metabolism, insulin sensitivity and levels of inflammation.

Objectives: The primary objective was to determine the effects of exercise, compared to usual care or no treatment, on lean body mass, the main biomarker of cachexia, in adults with cancer.