Clinically, cachexia manifests with excessive weight loss in the setting of ongoing disease, usually accompanied by muscle wasting. It affects more than 5 million persons in the United States alone: Aids, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis. Other causes of weight loss include anorexia, sarcopenia, and dehydration. The major cause described in the scientific literature appears to be cytokine excess, particularly increase of IL-6 and TNF-α. Both nutritional support and anorexigenic agents play a role in the management of cachexia. A fermented soy product available in Germany and Austria, which was marketed in the US in 1987 for reduction of symptoms accompanied in cancer patients, was investigated. It was shown in a small-scale prospective study in prostate, mammary and ovarian cancer patients that a fermented soy product could reduce depression, stress and cachexia which were unresponsive to conventional therapy. Significant increase of body weight was achieved. Apoptosis markers in disseminated tumor cells like BAX/Bcl2-ratio, cell cycle inhibitor p21 and anti-proliferation factor Estrogen Receptor beta (ER-β) gene expressions were increased in prostate cancer and ovarian cancer patients. Breast cancer patients did show increased cell cycle inhibitor p21, however no increase in apoptosis or ER-β-expression. Results may confirm our assumption that cachexia and reduced apoptosis are linked via NFκB, at least for prostate and ovarian cancer patients. Results have to be confirmed in a larger clinical trial.