New hope in the fight against cachexia — cancer’s deadly co-conspirator Scientists are getting closer to understanding the wasting and fatigue that often accompanies cancer. Treatments could be on the horizon. By Amber Dance

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02228-7?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=5aed9ee873-nature-briefing-daily-20260721&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 An influx of studies is shedding new light on cachexia, a syndrome that causes muscle wasting and reduced appetite and affects up to 80% of people with cancer. The research has repositioned the condition as a whole-body syndrome of metabolism gone haywire, with psychological symptoms as well as physical, and has unearthed clues as to how the brain orchestrates it. And a handful of companies, including pharma giant Pfizer, are testing medicines for cachexia, raising hope that a treatment might be on the horizon.