cachectin
noun
ca·chec·tin
| \ kə-ˈkek-tən, ka-
\
\
Medical Definition of cachectin
: tumor necrosis factor
In 1985 a New York research group identified a protein, which they called cachectin, that causes emaciation in many patients with chronic infections or cancer. Shortly afterward, another group realized that cachectin was identical to tumor necrosis factor, a cancer-fighting substance manufactured by the cells of the immune system.— Gordon Bakoulis Bloch, Discover, April 1990