Pretreatment cancer-associated weight loss is common, even in early-stage disease, and is independently associated with reduced survival. Minimal weight loss represents a clinically distinct entity with an associated overall survival intermediate to that of no weight loss and overt wasting. Early diagnosis and treatment of cancer-associated wasting offers a novel therapeutic avenue for reducing cancer mortality.
Pretreatment cancer-associated weight loss is common in patients with NSCLC, and its presence is significantly associated with lower SES. However, among patients with pretreatment cancer-associated weight loss, SES was not predictive of survival. Early use of cancer cachexia-directed therapies may improve outcomes, and further study on the biologic mechanisms of cancer cachexia will provide novel therapeutic avenues.
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