'Gut microbiota in cancer cachexia : contribution to the disease and therapeutic prospects' - Lecture by Laure Bindels

Lecture by Laure Bindels, Louvain Drug Research Institute, UCL 

Abstract: "Cancer cachexia is a complex multi-organ syndrome characterized by weight loss, muscle atrophy and fat mass loss. With a prevalence of 1 million people in Europe and only limited therapeutic options, there is a high medical need for new approaches to treat cachexia. In this context, we started a few years ago studying the therapeutic interest of modulating the gut microbiota in the context of cancer cachexia. We discovered that the gut microbiota composition and function as well as the gut function were deeply altered in cancer cachexia. Furthermore, our experimental results established that nutritional modulation of the gut microbiota using prebiotics and/or probiotics could constitute an interesting adjuvant therapeutic tool for cancer and associated cachexia."