Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30474606›Full record

ArticleBioMedicine2018

Weight loss might be an early clinical manifestation of undiagnosed cancer: a nation-based cohort study.

Shih-Wei Lai, Cheng-Li Lin, Kuan-Fu Liao

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BioMedicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 29% 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

4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Shih-Wei LaiCollege of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan - Department of Family Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
Cheng-Li LinCollege of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 404, Taiwan - Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
Kuan-Fu LiaoCollege of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 970, Taiwan - Division of Hepatogastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Taichung 427, Taiwan.
China Medical University · TWTzu Chi University · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

aimNo published nation-based study has examined the relationship between weight loss and cancer in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate whether weight loss is an early clinical manifestation of cancer in Taiwan.

methodsWe conducted a nation-based, retrospective cohort study that analyzed the database of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Program. There were 8210 subjects aged 20 to 84 years with newly diagnosed weight loss selected as the weight loss group from 2000 to 2012, and 32826 randomly selected subjects without weight loss as the non-weight loss group. The weight loss and non-weight loss groups were matched along sex, age, and comorbidities. The incidence of cancer at the end of 2013 was examined in both groups.

resultsThe weight loss group had a significantly higher incidence of cancer than the non-weight loss group during the first 3 months of follow-up (25.1 vs. 8.39 per 1000 person-years, with an incidence rate ratio 2.99, 95% CI 2.82, 3.18). The multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model revealed that the adjusted HR of cancer was 1.05 for the weight loss group (95% CI 1.04, 1.05) as compared with the non-weight loss group.

conclusionWeight loss is associated with a small but statistically significant increase in the hazard of cancer. Weight loss might be an early clinical manifestation of undiagnosed cancer. Physicians should keep in mind the possibility of cancer when people present with weight loss and other possible cancer-related symptoms, particularly during the first 3 months of follow-up.

Identifiers

PMID30474606
PMCPMC6254098
OpenAlexW2903521617

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.