Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27239403›Full record

ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2016

MAP3K11/GDF15 axis is a critical driver of cancer cachexia.

Lorena Lerner, Julie Tao, Qing Liu, Richard Nicoletti, Bin Feng, Brian Krieger, Elizabeth Mazsa, Zakir Siddiquee, Ruoji Wang, Lucia Huang and 8 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 136 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
136citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

136 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 175 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Cancer- and cardiac-induced cachexia: same fate through different inflammatory mediators?Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2022
    Pooled it
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  9. Functional segregation of body-brain signals in the area postrema.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
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  14. Observational
  15. GDF15 in Patients with Autoimmune Primary Adrenal Insufficiency.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  16. Review
  17. Cancer cachexia: molecular basis and therapeutic advances.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026
    Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

76 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Lorena LernerAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9474-2018
Julie TaoAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Qing LiuAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Richard NicolettiAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Bin FengAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Brian KriegerAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Elizabeth MazsaAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Zakir SiddiqueeAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Ruoji WangAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Lucia HuangAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA; Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research 211 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge MA 02139 USA.
Luhua ShenAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA; Moderna Therapeutics 200 Technology Square Cambridge MA 02139 USA.
Jie LinAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA; Stealth Peptides Inc.275 Grove Street, Ste.3-107 Newton MA 02466 USA.
Antonio ViganoMcGill Nutrition and Performance Laboratory; (MNUPAL) McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Montreal Canada.
M Isabel ChiuAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA; Enumeral Biomedical Corp One Kendall Square Building 400 Cambridge MA 02139 USA.
Zhigang WengAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
William WinstonAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA; POTENZA Therapeutics 700 Main Street Cambridge MA 02139 USA.
Solly WeilerAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
Jeno GyurisAVEO Oncology One Broadway 14th Floor Cambridge MA 02142 USA.
AVEO Oncology (United States) · USMcGill University Health Centre · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCancer associated cachexia affects the majority of cancer patients during the course of the disease and thought to be directly responsible for about a quarter of all cancer deaths. Current evidence suggests that a pro-inflammatory state may be associated with this syndrome although the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of cachexia are poorly understood. The purpose of this work was the identification of key drivers of cancer cachexia that could provide a potential point of intervention for the treatment and/or prevention of this syndrome.

methodsGenetically engineered and xenograft tumour models were used to dissect the molecular mechanisms driving cancer cachexia. Cytokine profiling from the plasma of cachectic and non-cachectic cancer patients and mouse models was utilized to correlate circulating cytokine levels with the cachexia phenotype.

resultsUtilizing engineered tumour models we identified MAP3K11/GDF15 pathway activation as a potent inducer of cancer cachexia. Increased expression and high circulating levels of GDF15 acted as a key mediator of this process. In animal models, tumour-produced GDF15 was sufficient to trigger the cachexia phenotype. Elevated GDF15 circulating levels correlated with the onset and progression of cachexia in animal models and in patients with cancer. Inhibition of GDF15 biological activity with a specific antibody reversed body weight loss and restored muscle and fat tissue mass in several cachectic animal models regardless of their complex secreted cytokine profile.

conclusionsThe combination of correlative observations, gain of function, and loss of function experiments validated GDF15 as a key driver of cancer cachexia and as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment and/or prevention of this syndrome.

Indexed as

Cancer cachexiaGDF15MAP3K11MIC‐1MLK3

Identifiers

PMID27239403
PMCPMC4863827
OpenAlexW1831636259

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.