Loading
Muscle Physiology and Disorders · Journal article
Nutrition and Cancer · August 11, 2026
Early or partial results. Treat as a signal, not a conclusion.
This retrospective study identifies ECOG performance status ≥1 and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3.0 as independent predictors of failure to complete 12 weeks of anamorelin treatment in gastrointestinal cancer cachexia. Among those who completed treatment, improvements in nutritional status, body composition, and handgrip strength were observed. The findings suggest timing of treatment initiation relative to performance decline and inflammatory state may influence adherence, but the associations are modest and require prospective confirmation.
Single-center, retrospective cohort study. Patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer receiving anamorelin for cachexia at a single center. Intervention: Anamorelin treatment for cachexia. n = 89. Single center (location not specified).
36 of 89 patients (40.4%) completed 12 weeks of anamorelin treatment ECOG performance status ≥1 associated with lower completion (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.15–0.98, p = 0.048) Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio ≥3.0 associated with lower completion (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.12–0.95, p = 0.047)
No information on reasons for discontinuation or baseline characteristics driving non-completion
Results suggest clinicians should consider performance status and systemic inflammation when selecting candidates for anamorelin treatment and may optimize completion by initiating therapy earlier in the disease course. However, findings are observational and require prospective validation before guiding treatment decisions.
Single-center retrospective study identifying predictors of treatment completion rather than efficacy; useful for identifying barriers but lacks prospective validation and cannot establish causation.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
Results suggest clinicians should consider performance status and systemic inflammation when selecting candidates for anamorelin treatment and may optimize completion by initiating therapy earlier in the disease course. However, findings are observational and require prospective validation before guiding treatment decisions.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Although anamorelin improves appetite and body composition in cancer cachexia, early discontinuation is common. We aimed to evaluate predictors of 12-week treatment completion and longitudinal changes among patients who completed treatment. This single-center, retrospective study included patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancer who received anamorelin for cachexia (July 2021–March 2025). Baseline factors were compared between continuation and discontinuation groups, and predictors were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. Of 89 eligible patients, 36 (40.4%) completed 12 wk of treatment. In multivariable analyses, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) ≥1 (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.15–0.98; p = 0.048) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) ≥3.0 (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.12–0.95; p = 0.047) were associated with lower treatment completion. In another model, NLR ≥3.0 remained significantly associated with lower treatment completion, while concurrent systemic anticancer therapy at anamorelin initiation showed a nonsignificant association with treatment completion (OR, 4.42; 95% CI, 0.92–43.07; p = 0.064). In the continuation group, nutritional status, body composition, handgrip strength, and anorexia-related symptoms improved, whereas NLR increased. Impaired ECOG PS and elevated NLR were associated with failure to complete 12-week anamorelin treatment. Earlier initiation of anamorelin before performance status declines and systemic inflammation progresses may support treatment completion.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.