Leucine Supplementation in Cancer Cachexia: Mechanisms and a Review of the Pre-Clinical Literature

Cancer cachexia (CC) is a complex syndrome of bodily wasting and progressive functional decline. Unlike starvation, cachexia cannot be reversed by increased energy intake alone. Nonetheless, targeted nutritional support is a necessary component in multimodal syndrome management. Due to the highly catabolic nature of cancer cachexia, amino acid supplementation has been proposed. Interestingly, leucine has been found to increase protein synthesis and decrease protein degradation via mTORC1 pathway activation. Multiple pre-clinical studies have explored the impact of leucine supplementation in cachectic tumor-bearing hosts. Here, we provide an overview of leucine’s proposed modes of action to preserve lean mass in cachexia and review the current pre-clinical literature related to leucine supplementation during CC. Current research indicates that a leucine-rich diet may attenuate CC symptomology; however, these works are difficult to compare due to methodological differences. There is need for further pre-clinical work exploring leucine’s potential ability to modulate protein turnover and immune response during CC, as well as the impact of additive leucine on tumor growth.