Hannah Wardill, Research Fellow at Adelaide University, NHMRC Investigator, and Lead of the Supportive Oncology Research Group (SORG), shared by Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders (SCWD) on LinkedIn:
“Really pleased to see this work highlighted by the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders.
At Supportive Oncology Research Group (SORG), we have been increasingly interested in the idea that treatment-related toxicities, such as oral mucositis, may contribute to nutritional decline through biological mechanisms that extend beyond pain and reduced oral intake.
In this study, led by Radiation Toxicity Lead,s Connor Williams, we found that radiation-induced oral mucositis coincided with increased GDF-15 in the absence of a tumour – raising the possibility that treatment-induced mucosal injury itself may activate pathways involved in anorexia and wasting.
It is an early preclinical signal, but one that opens up some really interesting questions about the intersection between mucositis, appetite regulation, malnutrition and cachexia.
A great example of why supportive care toxicities should not be considered in isolation.
We are currently exploring this in a a prospective clinical cohort, but welcome ideas or opportunities to continue digging into the biology of toxicity clusters.
Perhaps someone else has a useful dataset for us to dig further? “
Quoting Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders:
“Radiation-induced oral mucositis is a well-recognised driver of treatment-related malnutrition in head and neck cancer. A new preclinical study in Cancer Letters now points to a molecular mechanism that may explain part of that link.
GDF-15, an established biomarker and mechanistic driver of cancer cachexia, was found to be upregulated in coincidence with radiation-induced oral mucositis raising the hypothesis that treatment-induced mucosal injury may activate GDF-15/GFRAL signalling as an independent pathway contributing to cancer-related anorexia and wasting, distinct from tumour-derived GDF-15 elevation.cf
If confirmed, this positions mucositis not just as a toxicity management challenge, but as a direct contributor to the cachexia cascade, and elevates GDF-15 monitoring as a clinically relevant endpoint in patients undergoing head and neck radiotherapy.
Join the global conversation on cancer cachexia, GDF-15, and treatment-related wasting at SCWD 2026.
Washington, DC | 10-12 December 2026 ”
Title: Radiation induced oral mucositis coincides with upregulation of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) in rats
Authors: Connor M.D. Williams, Caelleb R. Morcom, Ghanyah Al-Qadami, Ysabella Van Sebille, Joanne Bowen, Emma Bateman, Paolo Bossi, Hannah R. Wardill
Other articles about neck cancer on OncoDaily.