Submitted by aml95 on Mon, 03/02/2025 - 16:33
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a special type of body fat that burns calories to generate heat and it has been studied for its potential to fight metabolic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Recent research suggests it may also play a role in conditions involving extreme weight and muscle loss (e.g. cancer cachexia and severe burns).
A study recently published in Clinical Nutrition, led by Maria Chondrikola (IMS-MRL), Grigorios Panagiotou (IMS-MRL and MRC Epidemiology Unit) and colleagues at the University of California, aimed to explore the relationship between the presence of BAT, changes in body weight, and the risk of cachexia in cancer patients.
Researchers reviewed medical records of patients who had undergone PET-CT scans for cancer staging. They were divided into two matched groups: those with detectable BAT and those without. Researchers tracked weight changes and the development of cachexia over the following year. Patients with detectable BAT lost less weight compared to those without BAT. Additionally, the BAT+ group had an about 40% lower risk of developing cancer cachexia after adjusting for factors like age, sex, and cancer type and stage. Having detectable BAT at cancer diagnosis was linked to better weight maintenance and a reduced risk of cancer cachexia over one year.
These findings suggest that people with detectable BAT, who are generally metabolically healthier, may be better able to cope with the effects of cancer without experiencing severe weight and muscle loss (cancer cachexia). Another possibility is that increased BAT activity uses up nutrients that might otherwise support tumour growth, potentially slowing down the cancer and leading to better outcomes.
More research is needed to confirm these findings and understand the underlying mechanisms.
Reference: Panagiotou G, Babazadeh D, Mazza DF, Azghadi S, Cawood JM, Rosenberg AS, Imamura F, Forouhi NG, Chaudhari AJ, Abdelhafez YG, Badawi RD, Chondronikola M, Brown Adipose Tissue Is Associated with Reduced Weight loss and Risk of Cancer Cachexia: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Clinical Nutrition. doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2024.12.028
