Table 1.

Characteristics of starvation vs. cancer cachexia anorexia syndrome (CAS) (modified from [6]).

Starvation Response	Cancer Cachexia Anorexia Syndrome (CAS)
Physiologic response to low energy intake	Pathologic response (inflammation, cytokines, hormonal changes)
Preserved appetite and ghrelin response	Ghrelin resistance and loss of appetite
Decreased REE	Increased REE
Use of fat > muscle stores	Use of both fat and muscle for energy production
Protein catabolism reduced	Increased protein turnover
Reversible	Difficult to reverse