Table 1. Characteristics of study groups.
| Measure | Cancer – cachexia | Cancer – weight-stable | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender, M/F | 10/3 | 9/5 | 0.52 |
| Age, years | 65±6 | 65±8 | 0.75 |
| Body mass index (BMI), kg m−2 | 22.4±2.9 | 25.5±3.6 | 0.019 |
| Body fat, % | 18.5±5.8 | 27.4±6.6 | 0.001 |
| Body fat, kg | 12.7±4.7 | 21.0±5.0 | <0.001 |
| Lean body mass, kg | 57.1±13.5 | 57.1±14.1 | 0.99 |
| Weight loss, % of habitual weight | 9.7±4.0 | 0.6±3.1 | <0.001 |
| P-glucose, mmol l−1 | 6.6±1.6 | 6.4±1.7 | 0.71 |
| P-triglycerides, mmol l−1 | 1.1±0.4 | 1.4±0.5 | 0.059 |
| P-cholesterol, mmol l−1 | 4.6±1.3 | 5.0±1.2 | 0.41 |
| S-albumin, g l−1 | 34.6±3.9 | 38.2±2.7 | 0.012 |
| S-CRP, mg l−1 | 23.5±36.1 | 2.2±1.8 | 0.002 |
| S-interleukin-6, μg l−1 | 9.8±8.5 | 3.5±1.4 | 0.014 |
| P-glycerol, μmol/l/kg body fat | 7.0±4.3 | 3.4±1.6 | 0.01 |
| P-fatty acids, mmol/l/kg fat | 0.08±0.04 | 0.04±0.02 | 0.004 |
| SGA score, points | 8 (3–17) | 2 (1–3) | <0.001 |
| Tumour stage, points | 3 (1–4) | 4 (0–4) | 0.04 |
| Respiratory quotient, VO2/VCO2 | 0.805±0.028 | 0.849±0.065 | 0.036 |
| Resting energy expenditure, kcal day−1 | 1639±304 | 1654±293 | 0.89 |
| Fat cell volume, pico litres | 331±137 | 504±146 | 0.006 |
| Fat cell number × 1010 | 4.8±1.7 | 4.6±0.9 | 0.78 |
Abbreviations: P=fasting plasma; S=fasting serum; SGA=Subjective Global Assessment.
Values are mean±s.d. or mean (range). CRP was log10 transformed before comparison. Groups were compared by unpaired t-test, χ2-test (for gender) or Mann–Whitney (for SGA and tumour stage).