The total patient population was evaluated for the effect of four confounding factors (primary tumour location, metastatic status, age and gender) known to have an effect on general survival
| Patients without cachexia | Patients with cachexia | Comparison | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) Overall definition by Fearon et al | |||
| Primary location | p=0.1018 | ||
| Head/neck/breast | 9/26 (35%) | 17/26 (65%) | |
| GI tract | 27/109 (25%) | 82/109 (75%) | |
| Lung | 14/32 (44%) | 18/32 (56%) | |
| Metastasen | p=0.8094 | ||
| No | 15/54 (28%) | 39/54 (72%) | |
| Yes | 35/113 (31%) | 78/113 (69%) | |
| Age (SD) | 63.53 (10.99) | 64.15 (11.1) | p=0.7255 |
| Gender | p=0.2756 | ||
| Female | 20/55 (36%) | 35/55 (64%) | |
| Male | 30/112 (27%) | 82/112 (73%) | |
| (B) Overall definition by Evans et al | |||
| Primary location | p=0.4110 | ||
| Head/neck/breast | 18/26 (69%) | 8/26 (31%) | |
| GI tract | 62/109 (57%) | 47/109 (43%) | |
| Lung | 21/32 (66%) | 11/32 (34%) | |
| Metastasen | p=0.3363 | ||
| No | 36/54 (67%) | 18/54 (33%) | |
| Yes | 65/113 (57%) | 48/113 (42%) | |
| Age (SD) | 62.81 (11.11) | 65.72 (10.77) | p=0.0695 |
| Gender | p=0.1536 | ||
| Female | 38/55 (69%) | 17/55 (31%) | |
| Male | 63/112 (56%) | 49/112 (44%) | |
The presence of differences between the cachectic group and the non-cachectic group was evaluated for the definition of Fearon et al in A and for the definition of Evans et al in B. The cachectic group contains patients who were diagnosed as cachectic at minimum one consult and the non-cachectic group contains patients who were never diagnosed as cachectic along the five consults. All the effects of confounding factors are not significant.
GI, gastrointestinal.