KAMPALA —King Ceasor University researchers are among the top three global research teams who have won $250,000 each from Pfizer to investigate cancer cachexia.
The King Ceasor University team is led by Prof. Florence Mirembe, Innocent Atuhe, and Babra Nalwadda together with Uganda Cancer Institute led by Dr. Jackson Orem.
Dr. Orem is the Executive Director of the Uganda Cancer Institute, a public, specialized, tertiary care medical facility owned by the Uganda Ministry of Health.
Cancer cachexia is a loss of 5% or more of body weight over the preceding 6 months, accompanied by any of a handful of other symptoms, including fatigue and reduced strength.
Cancer Cachexia according to researchers, not only worsens survival for people with cancer, but it interferes with quality of life.
Experts say that people with cachexia are less able to tolerate treatments, such as chemotherapy, and often have more side effects. For those who have surgery, postoperative complications are more common.
The research to be carried in partnership with the cancer institute will help in understanding causal mechanism and effects of this syndrome.
The findings according to the university would also open the door for the development of novel interventions, which could improve treatment response, quality of life, and survival.
“Our faculty together with the UCI team will investigate the impact of cancer cachexia on physical activity, performance and functional measures among patients with advanced cancer at the Uganda Cancer Institute,” the university said.
It added: “Results from this study will inform future research, policy and practice on management of cancer cachexia in Uganda and globally.”
King Ceasor University is a coeducational Ugandan higher education institution that is officially accredited by Uganda’s National Council for Higher Education.
In a variety of fields of study, King Ceasor University ranking offers courses and programs that lead to officially recognized higher education degrees.
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