Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22699302›Full record

Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2013

Therapeutic potential of anamorelin, a novel, oral ghrelin mimetic, in patients with cancer-related cachexia: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, crossover, pilot study.

José M Garcia, John Friend, Suzan Allen

Abstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
74citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

74 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Ghrelin for the management of cachexia associated with cancer.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018
    Pooled it
  3. Anamorelin for cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2017
    Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Appetite and food intake results from phase I studies of anamorelin.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2019
    Trial
  9. Trial
  10. ROMANA 3: a phase 3 safety extension study of anamorelin in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with cachexia.Annals of oncology : official journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology · 2017
    Trial
  11. Anamorelin (ONO-7643) in Japanese patients with non-small cell lung cancer and cachexia: results of a randomized phase 2 trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2016
    Trial
  12. Brief versions of the FACIT-fatigue and FAACT subscales for patients with non-small cell lung cancer cachexia.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2015
    Trial
  13. Observational
  14. Review
  15. Cancer cachexia: molecular basis and therapeutic advances.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026
    Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Physical Activity, Exerkines, and Their Role in Cancer Cachexia.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  19. Review
  20. Article

14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

José M GarciaDivision of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. Jgarcia1@bcm.edu
John Friend
Suzan Allen

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeCachexia in cancer adversely affects patients' perception of symptoms, well-being, and response to therapy, and shortens survival. Anamorelin, an oral mimetic of ghrelin, has been shown to increase body weight and anabolic hormone levels in healthy volunteers and is being investigated to treat cancer cachexia.

methodsThis multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluated the effects of anamorelin in 16 patients with different cancers and cachexia. Patients were randomly assigned to anamorelin 50 mg/day or placebo for 3 days. A 3- to 7-day washout period followed and then treatments were switched. Assessments included body weight, appetite, food intake, growth hormone (GH) levels, patient-reported symptom assessments (e.g., the Anderson Symptom Assessment Scale [ASAS] and also an inclusion criterion), and safety.

resultsAnamorelin significantly increased body weight compared with placebo (0.77 kg vs. -0.33 kg). Food intake increased compared with placebo, but not significantly. GH significantly increased at all time points (0.5-4 h postdose). Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) significantly increased by 54.09 ng/mL with anamorelin treatment compared with -3.56 ng/mL for placebo; significant changes in insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) were 0.75 μg/mL vs. -0.19 μg/mL, respectively. Patient-reported symptoms, including appetite as measured by ASAS, significantly improved with anamorelin (8.1 vs. 1.0 for placebo). Adverse events (AEs) in four patients were possibly or probably related to anamorelin: hyperglycemia (two patients), nausea (one patient), and dizziness (one patient). Most AEs were mild; no patients withdrew due to AEs.

conclusionsAnamorelin showed significant metabolic, clinical, and patient-rated effects in cancer cachexia. Further studies are warranted.

Indexed as

Administration, OralAdultAppetiteAppetite StimulantsBiomarkersCachexiaCross-Over StudiesDouble-Blind MethodFemaleGhrelinGrowth HormoneHumansInsulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3Insulin-Like Growth Factor IMaleMiddle AgedAppetite StimulantsBiomarkersGhrelinGrowth HormoneInsulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3Insulin-Like Growth Factor I

Identifiers

PMID22699302

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.