Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics (n = 1030)
| Features | Total (N = 1030) | No cachexia a (N = 496) | With cachexia a (N = 534) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | N | % | |
| Age in years, median (IQR) | 83 | 79–87 | 83 | 79–87 | 83 | 79–87 |
| Gender, female | 537 | 52.1 | 282 | 56.9 | 255 | 47.8 |
| In/outpatient status | ||||||
| Hospitalization | 355 | 34.6 | 132 | 26.7 | 223 | 41.8 |
| Consultation | 672 | 65.4 | 362 | 73.3 | 310 | 58.2 |
| Cancer type | ||||||
| Breast | 167 | 16.2 | 118 | 23.8 | 49 | 9.2 |
| Colorectal | 157 | 15.2 | 59 | 11.9 | 98 | 18.4 |
| Upper gastrointestinal tract b | 144 | 14.0 | 34 | 6.9 | 110 | 20.6 |
| Lung | 105 | 10.2 | 38 | 7.7 | 67 | 12.6 |
| Gynaecological | 97 | 9.4 | 57 | 11.5 | 40 | 7.5 |
| Urinary tract | 91 | 8.8 | 51 | 10.3 | 40 | 7.5 |
| Prostate | 81 | 7.9 | 40 | 8.1 | 41 | 7.7 |
| Haematological c | 55 | 5.3 | 27 | 5.4 | 28 | 5.2 |
| Skin | 44 | 4.3 | 27 | 5.4 | 17 | 3.2 |
| Head and neck | 39 | 3.8 | 18 | 3.6 | 21 | 3.9 |
| Other d | 50 | 4.9 | 27 | 5.4 | 23 | 4.3 |
| Metastasis e (missing data n = 8) | 407 | 42.1 | 166 | 35.7 | 241 | 48.0 |
| Current therapy (missing data n = 18) | ||||||
| Surgery | 302 | 29.8 | 185 | 37.4 | 117 | 22.6 |
| Chemotherapy | 492 | 48.6 | 217 | 43.8 | 275 | 53.2 |
| Radiotherapy | 245 | 24.2 | 130 | 26.3 | 115 | 22.2 |
| Targeted therapy | 75 | 7.4 | 39 | 7.9 | 36 | 7.0 |
| Hormone therapy | 128 | 12.6 | 81 | 16.4 | 47 | 9.1 |
| Immunotherapy | 38 | 3.8 | 24 | 4.8 | 14 | 2.7 |
| Supportive care | 98 | 9.7 | 27 | 5.5 | 71 | 13.7 |
| Prior therapy f (missing data n = 1) | 318 | 30.9 | 143 | 28.8 | 175 | 32.8 |
| Surgery | 173 | 54.4 | 72 | 50.4 | 101 | 57.7 |
| Chemotherapy | 89 | 27.9 | 32 | 22.4 | 57 | 32.6 |
| Radiotherapy | 48 | 15.1 | 18 | 12.6 | 30 | 17.1 |
| Targeted therapy | 15 | 4.7 | 3 | 2.1 | 12 | 6.9 |
| Hormone therapy | 64 | 20.1 | 34 | 23.8 | 30 | 17.4 |
| Immunotherapy | 7 | 2.2 | 3 | 2.1 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Poor ECOG‐PS (≥2) (missing data n = 29) | 440 | 44 | 139 | 29 | 301 | 57.7 |
| Dependency (ADL ≤ 5/6) (missing data n = 8) | 343 | 33.6 | 115 | 23.3 | 228 | 43.1 |
| Timed up and go test (missing data n = 86) | ||||||
| ≤20 s | 587 | 62.2 | 330 | 71.3 | 257 | 53.4 |
| >20 s | 250 | 26.5 | 114 | 24.6 | 136 | 28.3 |
| Unable to perform the test | 107 | 11.3 | 19 | 4.1 | 88 | 18.3 |
| Cognitive impairment g (missing data n = 84) | 361 | 38.2 | 145 | 30.9 | 216 | 45.3 |
| Impaired mini‐GDS (risk of depression: ≥1/4) (missing data n = 94) | 400 | 42.7 | 146 | 32.6 | 254 | 52 |
| Updated Charlson comorbidity index, median (IQR) (missing data n = 37) | 5 | 3–7 | 4 | 2–6 | 6 | 3–7 |
| Number of daily prescribed drugs, median (IQR) (missing data n = 8) | 6 | 3–9 | 6 | 3–8 | 6 | 4–9 |
ADL, activities of daily living; ECOG‐PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status; GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale; MMSE, Mini Mental State Examination.
Cachexia was defined as the presence of one or more of the following criteria: weight loss >5% over the previous 6 months; or BMI < 20 kg/m2 and weight loss >2%; or abnormal SARC‐F score (≥4/10) and weight loss >2%.
Oesophagus, stomach, liver, and pancreas
Haematological malignancies included Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 2), non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 19), myelodysplastic syndromes (n = 9), acute leukaemia (n = 5), myeloma (n = 2), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (n = 2) and Waldenström's macroglobulinaemia (n = 1).
Sarcoma (n = 17), unknown origin (n = 11), thyroid (n = 4), other (n = 18).
Excluding haematological malignancies.
Cancer treatment in previous 12 months.
Impaired MMSE score (<24) or physician‐diagnosed cognitive disorder.