ArticleJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2015
Plasma growth differentiation factor 15 is associated with weight loss and mortality in cancer patients.
Article in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 142 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Center-Based and Home-Based Walking Exercise Intervention to Reduce Fatigue in Older Breast Cancer Survivors
A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Dose-Escalation Phase I Trial to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Immunogenicity of GB18 Following Single Subcutaneous Injection in Healthy Adult Participants
Who cites it
142 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 189 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cancer- and cardiac-induced cachexia: same fate through different inflammatory mediators?Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2022Pooled it
- Targeting Cancer Cachexia: A Mechanistic Evaluation of Anti-GDF-15 Antibody-Based Combination Therapies.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Trial
- First-in-Human Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Anti-GDF15 Antibody AZD8853 in Patients with Advanced/Metastatic Solid Tumors.Cancer research communications · 2025Trial
- Interplay between sarcopenia, GDF-15, and the efficacy of nivolumab plus ipilimumab in patients with mismatch repair deficient metastatic colorectal cancer: final survival analysis of the phase II GERCOR NIPICOL study.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2025Trial
- Phase 2 study of the efficacy and safety of ponsegromab in patients with cancer cachexia: PROACC-1 study design.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Trial
- GDF15 Is Elevated in Conditions of Glucocorticoid Deficiency and Is Modulated by Glucocorticoid Replacement.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Factors associated with serum GDF-15, iron deficiency and lower hemoglobin levels in patients with chronic heart failure and healthy elderly people.Heart and vessels · 2026Article
- Associations of Growth Differentiation Factor 15 in Chronic Kidney Disease.Kidney international reports · 2026Article
- Systemic health impact of cancer-associated extracellular vesicles and particles.Nature reviews. Cancer · 2026Review
- Association of plasma growth differentiation factor-15 with the frailty phenotype - Evidence from the COGFRAIL study.The Journal of frailty & aging · 2026Article
- Tumour GDF-15 Expression and Clinical Outcomes in Intermediate-Risk Metastatic Clear-Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated with Second-Line Nivolumab.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- Therapeutic Gfral silencing via antisense oligonucleotides ameliorates cancer-associated cachexia and extends survival in tumor-bearing mice.Cell reports. Medicine · 2026Article
- GDF15: A Hijacked Metabo-Hormone Orchestrating Cachexia and Immunosuppression in Cancer.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Tracking Perioperative Inflammation over Time: A Prospective Observational Study on the Longitudinal Dynamics of CRP and GDF-15.Nutrients · 2026Observational
- Compartment-Specific Associations of GDF15 With Intraocular Cytokines in Patients With Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Cancer cachexia: A tumor-driven disorder of whole-body homeostasis.Cancer cell · 2026Review
- Association of growth differentiation factor-15 with muscle wasting and anemia in chronic kidney disease.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- The Role of New Agents and Supportive Care in a Multimodal Approach to Cancer Cachexia.Cancers · 2026Review
- Tumor-Derived LIF Promotes GDF15-Driven Cachexia and Adverse Outcomes in Gastric Cancer.Cells · 2026Article
82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCancer-related weight loss is associated with increased inflammation and decreased survival. The novel inflammatory mediator growth differentiation factor (GDF)15 is associated with poor prognosis in cancer but its role in cancer-related weight loss (C-WL) remains unclear. Our objective was to measure GDF15 in plasma samples of cancer subjects and controls and establish its association with other inflammatory markers and clinical outcomes.
methodsWe measured body weight, appetite, plasma GDF15, and other inflammatory markers in men with cancer-related weight loss (C-WL, n = 58), weight stable patients with cancer (C-WS, n = 72), and non-cancer controls (Co, n = 59) matched by age and pre-illness body mass index. In a subset of patients we also measured handgrip strength, appendicular lean body mass (aLBM), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), and Karnofsky performance scores.
resultsGDF15, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 were increased in C-WL versus other groups. IL-1 receptor antagonist, IL-4, interferon-gamma, tumour necrosis factor alpha, and vascular endothelial growth factor A were increased in C-WL versus C-WS, and Activin A was significantly downregulated in Co versus other groups. C-WL patients had lower handgrip strength, aLBM, and fat mass, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and Karnofsky performance scores were lower in both cancer groups. GDF15, IL-6, and IL-8 significantly correlated with weight loss; GDF15 negatively correlated with aLBM, handgrip strength, and fat mass. IL-8 and Activin A negatively correlated with aLBM and fat mass. GDF15 and IL-8 predicted survival adjusting for stage and weight change (Cox regression P < 0.001 for both).
conclusionGDF15 and other inflammatory markers are associated with weight loss, decreased aLBM and strength, and poor survival in patients with cancer. GDF15 may serve as a prognostic indicator in cancer patients and is being evaluated as a potential therapeutic target for cancer-related weight loss.
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Registered trials
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.