Evidence map›Paper›PMID 19688225›Full record

ReviewSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2010

Cancer cachexia: medical management.

Giovanni Mantovani, Clelia Madeddu

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 5% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Guideline
  2. Associations of corticosteroid therapy with weight change and appetite in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer - a post hoc analysis from the MISTRAL trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Trial
  3. Appetite and food intake results from phase I studies of anamorelin.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2019
    Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Red blood cell extracellular vesicles deliver therapeutic siRNAs to skeletal muscles for treatment of cancer cachexia.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2023
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Nutritional and Exercise Interventions in Cancer-Related Cachexia: An Extensive Narrative Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Review
  10. Review
  11. Diet-related interventions for cancer-associated cachexia.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2021
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Nutritional support and parenteral nutrition in cancer patients: an expert consensus report.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2018
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Giovanni MantovaniDepartment of Medical Oncology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. mantovan@medicina.unica.it
Clelia Madeddu
University of Cagliari · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome associated with many chronic or end-stage diseases, especially cancer, and is characterized by loss of muscle with or without loss of fat mass. The management of cachexia is a complex challenge that should address the different causes underlying this clinical event with an integrated or multimodal treatment approach targeting the different factors involved in its pathophysiology. MATERIALS AND

methodsThe purpose of this article was to review the current medical treatment of cancer-related cachexia, in particular focusing on combination therapy and ongoing research.

resultsAmong the treatments proposed in the literature for cancer-related cachexia, some proved to be ineffective, namely, cyproheptadine, hydrazine, metoclopramide, and pentoxifylline. Among effective treatments, progestagens are currently considered the best available treatment option for cancer-related cachexia, and they are the only drugs approved in Europe. Drugs with a strong rationale that have failed or have not shown univocal results in clinical trials so far include eicosapentaenoic acid, cannabinoids, bortezomib, and anti-TNF-alpha MoAb. Several emerging drugs have shown promising results but are still under clinical investigation (thalidomide, selective cox-2 inhibitors, ghrelin mimetics, insulin, oxandrolone, and olanzapine).

conclusionsTo date, despite several years of co-ordinated efforts in basic and clinical research, practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of cancer-related muscle wasting are lacking, mainly because of the multifactorial pathogenesis of the syndrome. From all the data presented, one can speculate that one single therapy may not be completely successful in the treatment of cachexia. From this point of view, treatments involving different combinations are more likely to be successful.

Indexed as

CachexiaDrug Therapy, CombinationHumansNeoplasms

Identifiers

PMID19688225
OpenAlexW2071300912

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.