Vickie Baracos
The long term focus of my career has been the pathophysiology of skeletal muscle atrophy in an
effort that encompasses fundamental and translational research, a clinical research agenda and an
international network of strategic collaboration. Cancer cachexia, a debilitating condition
characterized by profound atrophy of skeletal muscle is my main focus since 2003. Some key
publications include Baracos VE et al. Cancer-associated cachexia. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2018;
4:17105; Martin L et al. Diagnostic criteria for the classification of cancer-associated weight
loss. J Clin Oncol. 2015;33(1):90-9. Fearon K et al. Definition and classification of cancer
cachexia: an international consensus. Lancet Oncol. 2011;12(5):489-95. I developed the use of
clinical computed tomography to detect and precisely measure the muscle loss which is an integral
part of cachexia. Muscle loss is strongly associated with severe chemotherapy toxicity,
complications of surgery and mortality in patients with different cancers.
Abstracts this author is presenting: