A multitude of studies have demonstrated that administration of ACVR2 signaling blockers in pre-clinical cancer cachexia models leads to a number of positive health-related effects, including muscle growth or prevention of muscle wasting, maintenance of bone mass and bone mineral density, attenuation of hepatic protein synthesis, splenomegaly and anemia, in some instances, decreased tumor growth and metastases, and ultimately, improvement of survival. The gene discussed is ACVR2A; the disease is anemia (phenotype).