Cancer is a prominent cause of mortality and a significant obstacle to improving life expectancy. Worldwide, the tumour types with higher mortality are in decreasing order: lung, colorectal, liver, gastric, breast, oesophageal and pancreatic cancers. In 2020, the number of patients that died due to cancer was almost 10.0 million, while in 2040 it is foreseen to be 28.4 million, an increase of 47% in 20 years (Sung et al., 2021).

Unfortunately, besides the disease itself, cancer patients also face life-threatening complications, namely cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) and cancer-associated cachexia (CAC) (Timp and Versteeg, 2013, Stubbins, 2020). Both events have a deleterious impact, negatively affecting the patient's quality of life and prognosis, and imposing a substantial cost burden on healthcare systems (Timp and Versteeg, 2013, Stubbins, 2020, Khorana and Falanga, 2022a). Individual genetic background and tumour-specific factors, as well as variations in anti-neoplastic treatments, might explain the inter-individual variation in terms of prevalence, severity and progression of these complications (Lee, 2003, Soff, 2019, Heit et al., 2000). One shared feature is a systemic pro-inflammatory state, which plays a central role in the pathogenesis of both conditions (Peixoto da Silva et al., 2020, Ay, 2017, Foley, 2016).

The high frequency of both thrombosis and cachexia among oncological patients and the roles of pro-inflammatory cascades in their pathogenesis raise the question of whether these conditions could be related. Although they may occur together, the accurate percentage of patients affected by both diseases is unknown (Fig. 1) (Ay, 2010, Amer, 2013, Bossi and Mascheroni, 2021, von Haehling, 2014, Poulia, 2020). Furthermore, the biological mechanisms underlying such potential link are poorly explored, with no consistent evidence-based molecular pathways proposed yet. Also, the physiopathology behind these disorders is still a subject of study as neither of them is fully understood (Peixoto da Silva et al., 2020, Tavares and Assis, 2019).

Given the knowledge gaps, this review article aims to provide mechanistic insight into the putative association between CAT and CAC. To do so, during 2022 a literature review of scientific articles published in the last 60 years (between 1962 and 2022) was performed in the following research databases: PubMed, Scopus, SciELO, Medline and Web of Science. Using these databases were searched terms and interpretations of “Cancer” (malignancy, malignant neoplasms, neoplasia, neoplasm, tumour, malignancy) and either “Thrombosis” (blood clot, thrombus, thromboembolism) or “Cachexia” (wasting, malnutrition). After initial data collection, similarities between CAT and CAC were explored.