WCLC 2025 - Posters & ePosters-EP.15.01 Anorexia, an Underreported Adverse Event, Predicts Mortality in Lung Cancer Patients

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This prospective study from a private cancer center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, investigated the impact of anorexia—defined as loss of appetite and an underreported adverse event—on mortality among lung cancer (LC) patients. The study included 134 predominantly elderly (90%) patients, 58% female, with 76% diagnosed at advanced stages (III–IV). Nutritional status was assessed via the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) within 60 days of nutritional evaluation.<br /><br />Results showed that 43 (32%) patients reported anorexia at the first nutritional assessment. Those with anorexia were significantly older (mean age 74.6 vs. 70.2 years, p=0.022) and more likely to have advanced-stage disease (91% vs. 70%, p=0.041). Nutritional indicators were notably poorer in anorexic patients: higher PG-SGA scores (12.7 vs. 4.2, p=0.001), worse PG-SGA classifications (93% in poorer categories vs. 42%, p=0.001), lower body mass index (BMI) (24.8 vs. 26.7, p=0.008), and greater six-month weight loss percentage (7.6% vs. 0.9%, p=0.001). Despite weight loss, BMI remained in the normal range for many anorexic patients.<br /><br />Survival analysis using Kaplan-Meier methods demonstrated significantly reduced median overall survival in patients with anorexia (23.7 months) compared to those without (42.5 months), with a log-rank p-value of 0.002. This highlights anorexia as a strong predictor of mortality in lung cancer.<br /><br />The study concludes that anorexia, often underrecognized, is linked to worse nutritional status and markedly poorer survival outcomes in LC patients, emphasizing the need for early screening and targeted nutritional interventions to potentially improve prognosis in advanced lung cancer.

Asset Subtitle

Aline Barreto

Meta Tag

Speaker Aline Barreto

Topic Multidisciplinary Care: Nursing, Allied Health and Palliative Care

Keywords

anorexia

lung cancer

mortality

nutritional status

PG-SGA

advanced-stage cancer

weight loss

body mass index

survival analysis

Kaplan-Meier