Appetite and its association with mortality in patients with advanced cancer - a Post-hoc Analysis from the Palliative D-study.

BACKGROUND: Loss of appetite is a common nutrition symptom in patients with cancer. Understanding the trajectory of appetite could be of clinical use for prognostication in palliative cancer care. Our primary aim was to explore the association between self-assessed appetite and mortality in patients suffering from advanced cancer. Secondary aims included the relation between fatigue, albumin levels and CRP/albumin ratio and mortality. We also aimed to study potential sex-differences in the associations. METHODS: Post-hoc analyses were performed using data from the Palliative D-study comprising 530 patients with cancer admitted to palliative care. Appetite and fatigue were assessed with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS). Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for exposures of appetite, fatigue, albumin and CRP/albumin ratio, and time from study inclusion to death or censoring. Analyses were also performed stratified by sex. RESULTS: The follow-up time ranged between 7 to 1420 days. Moderate and poor appetite were significantly associated with a higher mortality rate compared to reporting a good appetite; HR 1.44 (95%CI: 1.16-1.79) and HR 1.78 (95%CI: 1.39-2.29), respectively. A higher mortality rate was also seen among participants reporting severe fatigue compared to those reporting no fatigue; HR 1.84 (95%CI:1.43-2.36). Participants with low albumin levels (< 25 g/L) and those in the highest tertile of CRP/albumin ratio, had higher mortality rates, HR 5.35 (95%CI:3.75-7.63) and HR 2.66 (95%CI:212-3.35), compared to participants with high albumin levels (> 36 g/L) and those in lowest tertile of CRP/albumin ratio. These associations were more pronounced in men than in women. CONCLUSION: Poor appetite, severe fatigue, low albumin level and a high CRP/albumin ratio were associated with increased mortality rates among patients with advanced cancer. All these variables might be clinically useful for prognostication in palliative cancer care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrial.gov. Identifier: NCT03038516;31, January 2017.

Appetite in Palliative Cancer Patients and Its Association with Albumin, CRP and Quality of Life in Men and Women-Cross-Sectional Data from the Palliative D-Study.

Albumin is an important biochemical marker in palliative cancer care, used for assessment of nutritional status, disease severity and prognosis. Our primary aim was to investigate sex differences in the association between appetite and albumin levels in palliative cancer patients. We also aimed to study associations between appetite and C-reactive protein (CRP), Quality of Life (QoL), pain and fatigue. In the Palliative D-cohort, consisting of 266 men and 264 women, we found a correlation between appetite and albumin; low appetite, measured with the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, correlated significantly with low albumin in men: (r = -0.33, p < 0.001), but not in women (r = -0.03, p = 0.65). In a regression analysis adjusted for confounding factors, results were similar. Lower appetite was correlated with higher CRP in men (r = 0.27, p < 0.001), but not in women (r = 0.12, p = 0.05). Appetite was correlated with QoL, fatigue and pain in both men and women; those with a low appetite had a low QoL and high fatigue- and pain-scores (p < 0.001). In conclusion, our results indicated possible sex differences in the associations between appetite and albumin, and between appetite and CRP, in palliative care patients. Understanding these associations could provide additional value for clinical practice.

Weight Loss in Advanced Cancer: Sex Differences in Health-Related Quality of Life and Body Image.

Weight maintenance is a priority in cancer care, but weight loss is common and a serious concern. This study explores if there are sex differences in the perception of weight loss and its association to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and body image. Cancer patients admitted to Advanced Medical Home Care were recruited to answer a questionnaire, including characteristics, the HRQoL-questionnaire RAND-36, and a short form of the Body Image Scale. Linear regression analyses stratified by sex and adjusted for age were performed to examine associations between percent weight loss and separate domains of HRQoL and body image score in men and women separately. In total, 99 participants were enrolled, of which 80 had lost weight since diagnosis. In men, an inverse association between weight loss and the HRQoL-domain physical functioning, ß = -1.34 (95%CI: -2.44, -0.24), and a positive association with body image distress, ß = 0.22 (95%CI: 0.07, 0.37), were found. In women, weight loss was associated with improvement in the HRQoL-domain role limitations due to physical health, ß = 2.02 (95%CI: 0.63, 3.41). Following a cancer diagnosis, men appear to experience weight loss more negatively than women do. Recognizing different perceptions of weight loss may be of importance in clinical practice.

High-protein compared with standard parenteral nutrition in palliative cancer care.

OBJECTIVES: High-protein parenteral nutrition (PN) has been developed to counteract muscle loss in patients with cancer treated with PN. Nevertheless, it is not clear if high-protein PN is as safe as standard PN in patients with palliative cancer. Our primary aim was to compare the proportion of patients with elevated liver enzymes between high-protein and standard PN in patients with palliative cancer enrolled to Medical Home Care. Our secondary aim was to compare the two treatments with regard to weight and albumin levels during treatment. METHODS: Medical records from 2016 to 2018 were retrospectively reviewed to identify palliative cancer patients that had received PN for more than 3 weeks. Data on weight, height, albumin, liver enzymes, socioeconomic factors and dietitian consultations were collected at baseline and after 3-8 weeks of PN treatment. The odds of having elevated liver enzymes or having a maintained weight and/or stable albumin levels were calculated using logistic regression. RESULTS: 20 patients treated with high-protein PN were compared with 104 patients treated with standard PN. Patients treated with high-protein PN had a significantly higher weight at follow-up compared with patients treated with standard PN (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients with elevated liver enzymes (OR 0.20; 95% CI 0.02 to 1.86), or maintained weight and/or albumin levels (OR 1.62; 95% CI 0.46 to 5.76) between high-protein and standard PN. CONCLUSION: High-protein PN was as safe, and at least as effective, as standard PN to patients with palliative cancer.

Catheter-related bloodstream infections in palliative care patients receiving parenteral nutrition by medical home care.

BACKGROUND: Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) constitute a major complication associated with the use of central venous lines (CVL). The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence proportion and risk factors of CRSBI in palliative care patients with CVL receiving home parenteral nutrition (HPN). METHODS: Medical records from patients admitted to a medical home care unit in stockholm, Sweden, during 2017 were reviewed (n=1022) and 454 palliative care patients with a CVL were identified. Data on CRBSI cases, HPN exposure time, type of parenteral nutrition (PN), age, diagnosis and type of CVL were collected. RESULTS: Twenty-nine of 143 patients receiving HPN through a CVL were diagnosed with a CRBSI (20%). Nine of 311 patients with CVL without exposure for HPN developed CRBSI (3%). The risk of a CRBSI was significantly higher in patients receiving HPN compared with those not receiving HPN, OR 8.5 (95% CI 4.0 to 18.7). For those receiving HPN six to seven times a week the risk was even higher, OR 13 (95% CI 5.1 to 30.3). The highest incidence proportion of CRBSI (31%) was found in a home care team where patients had been trained to disconnect themselves from the PN drip. Sex, cancer versus non-cancer, type of CVL or protein content in the PN, did not differ between patients that developed CRBSI versus those that did not develop the outcome. CONCLUSION: HPN entails a high risk of CRBSI. A high frequency of PN and incautious handling of the disconnection of the drip, seem to be the most important risk factors.