Table 2.
Characteristics of systematic reviews
| Systematic review | Relevant studies, No | Study design (No) | Population | Intervention | Control | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dewey et al., 2007 [17] | 5 | RCT (n = 5) | Incurable or advanced cancer patients with either a reported weight loss of 5% and above or cachexia | Oral fish oil supplementation | Placebo/ active matched control | AE, BC, CR, EE, Fatigue, FS, NS, PS, QoL, SA, Survival, WC |
| Baldwin et al., 2012 [19] | 13 | RCT (n = 13) | Adults cancer patients with malnourished or at risk of malnutrition | Dietary advice, oral nutritional supplements, or both | Usual care | NI (ie, weight loss and energy intake), QOL, Survival |
| Reid et al., 2012 [20] | 3 | RCT (n = 3) | Advanced or incurable cancer patients with weight loss or cachexia | Thalidomide orally | Placebo/ an alternative experimental treatment modality | AE, BC, Fatigue, FS, GP, PIC, PS, QoL, Survival |
| Ruiz et al., 2013 [21] | 35 | RCT (n = 35) | Patients with cancer, AIDS or another underlying pathology related anorexia-cachexia | Megestrol acetate | Placebo/ other active drug treatments/ different doses | AC, AE, MAC, QoL, TSFT, WC |
| Chung et al., 2016 [26] | 14 | RCT (n = 14) | Cancer patients with various types, most in moderate to advanced stage | CHM, either in combination with other treatments or used alone | Conventional treatment, placebo, or no treatment. | Fatigue, paresthesias, dysesthesias, chronic pain, anorexia, insomnia, limbs edema, constipation |
| Lau et al., 2016 [27] | 13 | RCT (n = 13) | Patients with various types of cancer, near half in moderate to advanced stages | Any form of acupuncture and/or related therapies | Any type of interventions without acupuncture or related treatments | Fatigue, paresthesia, dysesthesias, chronic pain, anorexia, insomnia, limb edema, constipation, QoL |
| Bai et al., 2017 [28] | 4 | RCT (N = 3) Randomized crossover Trial (n = 1) | Cancer anorexia-cachexia syndrome (CACS) patients | Anamorelin | Placebo or Anamorelin at various doses | AC, GS, LBM, PS, QoL, Serum biomarkers, WC |
| Mochamat et al., 2017 [29] | 21 | RCT (n = 17) Prospective studies (n = 3) Crossover study (n = 1) | Cancer patients with cachexia or cachexia-related symptoms | Vitamin, mineral, proteins, or other dietary supplements | No supplements/ different supplements | AE, AC, LBM, L-carnitine, QoL, Survival, WC, |
Abbreviations: AC appetite change, AE adverse events, AIDS acquired immune deficiency syndrome, BC body composition, CHM chinese herbal medicine, CR compliance rates, EE energy expenditure, FS functional status, GS grip strength, LBM lean body mass, MAC mid-arm circumference, NS nutritional status, NI nutritional indices, PIC pro-inflammatory cytokines, PS performance status, QoL quality of life, RCT randomized clinical trial, SE side effects, TSFT triceps skin fold thickness, WC weight change