Boost for cachexia research
01 September 2025
Associate Professor Hyun Ko has received a Research Seed Grant from the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) to further her groundbreaking research into cancer cachexia.
Cancer cachexia is a debilitating condition that causes severe fat and muscle wasting in 80% of patients with advanced cancers. It is responsible for about a third of cancer-related deaths.
It can develop despite patients having adequate nutrition and cachexia’s triggers are not fully understood.
“Research has shown that inflammation and stress play a big role in the development of cachexia,” explains Associate Professor Ko.
“Despite its enormous clinical impact, we still don’t have effective tests or tools to detect it early.”
Associate Professor Ko is the first Australian (and first German) radiologist to receive this prestigious grant, from the RSNA's Research and Education Foundation.
It will support her latest cachexia research, which involves compiling an array of real-time data from colorectal cancer patients who undergo surgery at Peter Mac.
This pool of data – including clinical data, CT scans and epigenetic analysis from blood – will be analysed by artificial intelligence to look for common features in patients who later develop cachexia.
“This is a more holistic and personalized approach aiming to discover clinically relevant biomarkers that could help to detect and better define the complex issue of cancer cachexia,” Associate Professor Ko says.
The aim is to develop “new tools for early detection and better management of cancer cachexia … ultimately improving outcomes and quality of life for patients suffering from this condition”.
Associate Professor Ko’s collaborators on this research are US based Professor Ruth C. Carlos (Columbia University, New York) and Professor Steven W. Cole (University of California, Los Angeles).
The RSNA is one of the world’s largest radiological societies and, since 1984, it has awarded funds to 1,900+ research projects through its Research and Education Foundation.
In this latest funding round, over $4.7 million was allocated to 81 individuals across 54 North American institutions - plus one international grant to Associate Professor Ko in Australia.
Read more on the RSNA's website.
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About Peter Mac
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is a world leading cancer research, education and treatment centre and Australia’s only public health service dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer.