Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29442239›Full record

Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2018

Randomized double-blind clinical trial of combined treatment with megestrol acetate plus celecoxib versus megestrol acetate alone in cachexia-anorexia syndrome induced by GI cancers.

Bizhan Kouchaki, Ghasem Janbabai, Abbas Alipour, Shahram Ala, Samaneh Borhani, Ebrahim Salehifar

Abstract readClinical Trial, Phase IIIRandomized 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, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 17% 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

23 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  9. Trial
  10. Cancer cachexia: molecular basis and therapeutic advances.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026
    Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Clinical implication of megestrol acetate in metastatic gastric cancer: a big data analysis from Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) database.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024
    Article
  16. Review
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  19. Propensity score-matching analysis comparing safety outcomes of appetite-stimulating medications in oncology patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022
    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

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Bizhan KouchakiStudent Research Committee, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Ghasem JanbabaiGastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Abbas AlipourFaculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Shahram AlaPharmaceutical Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Samaneh BorhaniGastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Ebrahim SalehifarGastrointestinal Cancer Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. esalehifar@mazums.ac.ir.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8162-6950
Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences · IR

Funding

Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences 1394-1087
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposePrevious studies reported promising efficacy for celecoxib in the treatment of cancer cachexia. We designed this study to test the hypothesis that combination therapy with megestrol acetate (MA) plus celecoxib is superior to MA alone.

methodsNinety eligible gastrointestinal cancer patients randomly received either MA 320 mg/day plus placebo (arm1) or MA 320 mg/day plus celecoxib 200 mg/day (arm2). Patients were evaluated at baseline, then 1 and 2 months after starting interventions. The primary outcome was body weight. Secondary outcomes were quality of life, grip strength, appetite score, performance status, plasma albumin, CRP, IL-6, and Glasgow Prognostic Score.

resultsPatients were comparable at baseline. Sixty patients were assessable for the first month and 33 patients for the second month. After 2 months, patients in arm1 (MA + placebo) and arm2 (MA + celecoxib) experienced 4.0 ± 3.4 and 2.2 ± 3.6Kg of weight gain respectively (P = 0.163). Changes relative to baseline were statistically significant in both arms of the study (P = 0.001). Regarding secondary outcomes, comparisons between groups did not show any statistically significant difference, but within-group changes were significant in both arms of the study.

conclusionSince both MA alone and MA plus celecoxib are associated with improvement of cachexia in GI cancer patients, this study failed to show that adding celecoxib (200 mg/day) to megestrol (320 mg/day) could enhance anti-cachexic effects of megestrol.

Indexed as

AnorexiaAntineoplastic Agents, HormonalCachexiaCelecoxibCombined Modality TherapyDouble-Blind MethodFemaleGastrointestinal NeoplasmsHumansMaleMegestrol AcetateMiddle AgedProspective StudiesQuality of LifeWeight GainAntineoplastic Agents, HormonalCelecoxibMegestrol AcetateCachexiaCelecoxibCRPGrip strengthIL-6Megestrol acetate

Identifiers

PMID29442239
OpenAlexW2790365889

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.