Table 1.
Patient distribution according to demographic and disease characteristics
| n | % | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1,453 | |
| Gender | ||
| Female | 540 | 37.3 |
| Male | 908 | 62.7 |
| N.R. | 5 | – |
| Age (years)a, median (IQ range) | 64.0 (55–71) | |
| Site of primary tumour | ||
| Oral cavity | 116 | 8.0 |
| Oesophagus | 80 | 5.5 |
| Stomach | 206 | 14.2 |
| Pancreas | 90 | 6.2 |
| Small bowel | 33 | 2.3 |
| Colon–rectum | 518 | 35.7 |
| Lung | 217 | 15.0 |
| Upper respiratory airways | 84 | 5.8 |
| Other | 107 | 7.4 |
| N.R. | 2 | – |
| UICC stage | ||
| 0 | 10 | 0.9 |
| I | 51 | 4.7 |
| II | 150 | 13.8 |
| III | 298 | 27.4 |
| IV | 578 | 53.2 |
| N.R. | 366 | – |
| ECOG PS | ||
| 0 | 514 | 43.7 |
| 1 | 426 | 36.2 |
| 2 | 185 | 15.7 |
| 3 | 47 | 4.0 |
| 4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| N.R. | 277 | – |
| Therapy | ||
| Never treated | 203 | 14.0 |
| Past treated | 234 | 16.1 |
| Ongoing, one | 838 | 57.7 |
| Ongoing, two | 164 | 11.3 |
| Ongoing, three | 14 | 1.0 |
| NRS 2002 score | ||
| 0 | 368 | 25.3 |
| 1 | 336 | 23.1 |
| 2 | 287 | 19.8 |
| 3 | 259 | 17.8 |
| 4 | 138 | 9.5 |
| 5 | 53 | 3.7 |
| 6 | 12 | 0.8 |
| Median (IQ range) | 2 (0–3) | |
| Anorexia symptom | ||
| No | 683 | 47.2 |
| Mild | 362 | 25.0 |
| Moderate | 304 | 21.0 |
| Severe | 94 | 6.7 |
| N.R. | 7 | – |
| Anorexia syndrome | ||
| No | 349 | 24.1 |
| Mild | 401 | 27.6 |
| Moderate | 477 | 32.9 |
| Severe | 224 | 15.4 |
| N.R. | 2 | – |
| Fatigue | ||
| No | 455 | 31.4 |
| Mild | 536 | 37.0 |
| Moderate | 359 | 24.8 |
| Severe | 99 | 6.8 |
| N.R. | 4 | – |
| Early satiety | ||
| No | 864 | 59.6 |
| Mild | 300 | 20.7 |
| Moderate | 221 | 15.3 |
| Severe | 64 | 4.4 |
| N.R. | 4 | – |
N.R. not reported, IQ interquartile, UICC International Union Against Cancer, ECOG PS Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status
aMissing data in ten cases