GDF15 and cancer: They also showed that chemical peripheral sympathectomy and the loss of adipose triglyceride lipase protect mice from GDF15-induced weight loss in the context of cancer.65 This ground-breaking observation demonstrated the role of the peripheral sympathetic axis by which GDF15 elicits a lipolytic response in adipose tissue independently of anorexia, contributing to the reduction in both, adipose and muscle mass in tumor-bearing mice.