SynthesisBMC cancer2018
Pharmacological management of cachexia in adult cancer patients: a systematic review of clinical trials.
Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 67 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
67 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multicomponent Interventions for Adults With Cancer Cachexia: A Systematic Review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Pooled it
- Multimodal interventions for cachexia management.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- The Effect of Cannabis-Based Medicine in the Treatment of Cachexia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2021Pooled it
- A Mapping Literature Review of Medical Cannabis Clinical Outcomes and Quality of Evidence in Approved Conditions in the USA from 2016 to 2019.Medical cannabis and cannabinoids · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of auricular acupuncture on appetite in patients with advanced cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Annals of palliative medicine · 2020Trial
- Effects of adjunct testosterone on cardiac morphology and function in advanced cancers: an ancillary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.BMC cancer · 2019Trial
- Cancer Cachexia Research and Drug Development: Lessons from Failures and the Promise of Immunomodulation.Cancers · 2026Review
- Patient-derived organoid xenografts model esophageal cancer cachexia and enable assessment of anti-inflammatory drug repositioning.iScience · 2026Article
- Does Cachexia Matter for Glioblastoma Multiforme?Cancers · 2026Article
- Cachexia and Wasting in Chronic Illness: Regulatory and Clinical Trial Update.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Article
- Article
- Profibrotic immune cells and fibro-adipogenic progenitors contribute to skeletal muscle extracellular matrix remodeling and fibrosis in cancer cachexia.American journal of physiology. Cell physiology · 2025Article
- Bridging the tumor microenvironment: the pivotal role of cancer-associated fibroblasts in tumor cachexia development.Molecular cancer · 2025Review
- Ovarian cancer and malnutrition: a literature review.Translational cancer research · 2025Review
- Intervention strategies for cancer-related sarcopenia: a scoping review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Cancer cachexia: multilevel metabolic dysfunction.Nature metabolism · 2024Review
- Tocilizumab for Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer With Concomitant Cachexia: An Observational Study.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Observational
- Characterization of a Cancer-Induced Bone Pain Model for Use as a Model of Cancer Cachexia.Current issues in molecular biology · 2024Article
- Testosterone replacement therapy in patients with cachexia: a contemporary review of the literature.Sexual medicine reviews · 2024Review
- Activation of GPR81 by lactate drives tumour-induced cachexia.Nature metabolism · 2024Article
7 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
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCachexia is a multisystem syndrome characterized by weight loss, anorexia, loss of muscle mass, systemic inflammation, insulin resistance, and functional decline. Management of cachexia involves addressing multiple underlying biological mechanisms. Previous review on pharmacological management of cancer cachexia identified progestins and corticosteroids as effective agents for treatment of cachexia. However, to date no consensus exists on a single effective or standard treatment for management of cachexia. The aim of this systematic review is to determine the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments used to manage cachexia among adult cancer patients.
methodsWe performed literature searches of PubMed (NLM), Embase (Ovid), and Medline(Ovid) to identify clinical trials focused on pharmacological management of cancer cachexia among adult cancer patients from 2004 to 2018. Three reviewers screened a random selection of abstracts to measure for interrater reliability. After this step, each screener screened two-thirds of all abstracts and 177 studies were identified for full text review. The primary outcome was impact of pharmacological management on change in either weight or lean body mass in cancer patients.
resultsWe identified 19 articles (representing 20 RCTs) that focused on pharmacological management of cancer cachexia. Agents showing promising results included Anamorelin and Enobosarm. Anamorelin at 50 or 100 mg per day for 12 weeks showed a consistent benefit across all studies and resulted in significant improvement in weight as compared to baseline among cancer patients. Enobosarm at 1 and 3 mg per day was also effective in improving lean body mass and QOL symptoms among advancer stage cancer patients. Finally, use of combination agents provide evidence for targeting multiple pathways underlying cachexia mechanism to achieve maximum benefit. No agents showed functional improvement in cancer patients.
conclusionAnamorelin as a single agent shows promising results in improving cachexia related weight loss among cancer patients. Further research on combination therapies may be helpful to address critical gaps in cachexia management.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.