Cachexia is a devastating wasting syndrome that is associated with various diseases, being highly prevalent in cancer (80% in advanced disease) and representing the direct cause of death of up to 40% of the patients. The most common symptoms are severe depletion of fat and muscle mass, anorexia, fatigue, endocrine and metabolic chaos, and chronic systemic inflammation. Morbimortality is enhanced, and the results of therapy are compromised. Despite its unequivocal importance in the clinical setting, the syndrome is frequently underdiagnosed and seldom treated. There is no single therapy known to be able to counteract this plethora of symptoms and the aetiology of cachexia remains not fully elucidated. Nevertheless, the concept that chronic systemic inflammation underlies the alterations that lead in concert to wasting is acquiring vigour among scientists. Many authors thus consider this symptom a hallmark of cachexia, and when scoring the syndrome, circulating levels of C-reactive protein and proinflammatory interleukins are considered.

The purpose of the special issue is to contemplate the relevance of inflammation to the aetiology of cachexia, to address the mechanisms triggering the onset of the inflammatory state, and to evaluate the potential of inflammation-related markers for the diagnosis of the syndrome. Strategies aiming at counteracting systemic inflammation in cachexia shall be also discussed.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles and reviews.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Inflammatory and noninflammatory markers in cachexia diagnosis and staging
• Tissue and organ inflammation in cachexia
• Immune system in cachexia
• Mediators in cachexia:
  • Cytokines
  • Eicosanoids and lipid mediators
  • Cellular markers
  • ROS adipokines and metabolites
• Central nervous system inflammation and anorexia in cachexia
• Strategies to counteract systemic inflammation in cachexia
• Microbiota and inflammation in cachexia
• Tissue cross-talk in cachexia
• Common mechanisms in systemic inflammation in obesity and cachexia: do they mirror each other?