Impact of Body Weight Loss on Survival in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer Receiving Second-Line Treatment
Takuro Mizukami, Koki Hamaji, Risa Onuki, Ayako Yokomizo, Yoshie Nagashima, Hiroyuki Takeda, K. Umemoto, Ayako Doi, Hiroyuki Arai, Mami Hirakawa, Yoshiki Horie, Naoki Izawa, Takashi Ogura, Takashi Tsuda, Yu Sunakawa, Michi Shibata, Tsuneaki Tanaka, Shinya Mikami, Takako Eguchi Nakajima
Abstract
Limited information is available regarding the impact of body weight loss (BWL) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) who receive second-line chemotherapy. We retrospectively reviewed data for consecutive AGC patients who received second-line treatment with taxane-based chemotherapy at our institution between January 2014 and September 2018. We calculated variables, including percent BWL per month during chemotherapy (%BWL/m), and analyzed the correlations between BWL and other clinicopathological parameters with survival. Forty-four AGC patients were registered (median age, 67.5 years; females, n = 16 [36.3%]; severe ascites, n = 12 [27.3%]). The median overall survival was significantly shorter among patients with a %BWL/m of 1% or more, compared with patients with less weight loss (6.3 mo, vs. 12.3 mo, P = 0.038). The %BWL/m (≥1% vs. <1%) was significantly correlated with survival in a univariate analysis (HR = 2.11, P = 0.04), and the survival period was shorter for patients with severe ascites (HR = 1.92; 95% CI, 0.90–3.90) and if their %BWL/m was 1% or more (HR = 2.01; 95% CI, 0.98–4.10) in a multivariate analysis. In conclusion, BWL during second-line chemotherapy was associated with a poor prognosis among patients with AGC.