{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T11:49:17Z","timestamp":1787312957519,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,5]],"date-time":"2024-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cachexia is a leading cause of death among individuals with advanced cancer, yet effective pharmacological treatments are lacking. In this single-center retrospective study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab for the treatment of cancer cachexia accompanied by systemic hyperinflammation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Data were collected from 20 patients treated with tocilizumab and a control group of 20 patients matched for age, sex, and comorbidities. Both groups received corticosteroids. In the tocilizumab treatment group, patients received a single dose of tocilizumab (8 mg\/kg, maximum 800 mg) in combination with corticosteroids. Weight, body mass index, liver metastasis, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score, patient-generated subjective global assessments, the Anorexia\/Cachexia Subscale of the Functional Assessment of Anorexia\/Cachexia Therapy, handgrip strength, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and the C-reactive protein, hemoglobin, prealbumin, and albumin levels were recorded in both groups.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Tocilizumab treatment favorably influenced the levels of patient biomarkers (p&amp;lt;0.05), ameliorated systemic inflammation, and demonstrated enhanced clinical short-term efficacy compared to the control group, including rates of symptomatic relief (60% vs. 20%, p = 0.024), improvement of serum PAB and ALB (70% vs. 25%, p = 0.004), weight gain &amp;gt;2% (45% vs. 15%, p = 0.038), and improvement of grip strength and 6-m walk speed (p&amp;lt;0.05). Treatment with tocilizumab was generally safe, with no observed increase in infection rates (10% vs. 15%, p = 0.633) or intensive care unit admissions (10% vs. 25%, p = 0.405), and was more favorable for restarting antitumor therapy (70% vs. 35%, p = 0.027).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Tocilizumab, in combination with corticosteroids, is favorable for alleviating cancer cachexia with systemic hyperinflammation, despite the small sample size. Thus, this combination holds great potential as a novel strategy for treating cancer cachexia with systemic hyperinflammation.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2024.1477310","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,5]],"date-time":"2024-12-05T01:29:18Z","timestamp":1733362158000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Tocilizumab in combination with corticosteroids: potential for managing cancer cachexia with systemic 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