Validity of the diagnostic criteria from the Asian Working Group for Cachexia in advanced cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background Recently, the Asian Working Group for Cachexia (AWGC) published a consensus statement on diagnostic criteria for cachexia in Asians. We aimed to validate the criteria in adult patients in Japan with advanced cancer. Methods We conducted a single‐institution retrospective cohort study between April 2021 and October 2022. The AWGC criteria include chronic comorbidities and either a weight loss of >2% over 3–6 months or a body mass index (BMI) of 2% in 6 months (87% vs. 14%, P 5 mg/L (85% vs. 56%, P < 0.001). Overall survival was significantly shorter in patients with cachexia than in those without cachexia (MST 157 days, 95% CI 108–226 days vs. MST 423 days, 95% CI 245 days to not available, P = 0.0023). The Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that best supportive care (hazard ratio [HR] 2.91, P ≤ 0.001), lung cancer (HR 1.67, P = 0.0046), an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status score of ≥3 (HR 1.58, P = 0.016), AWGC‐defined cachexia (HR 1.56, P = 0.015), an age of ≥70 years (HR 1.53, P = 0.0070), oedema (HR 1.31, P = 0.022) and head/neck cancer (HR 0.44, P = 0.023) were found to be the significant predictors for mortality. Conclusions We demonstrated that AWGC‐defined cachexia has a significant prognostic value in advanced cancer.

Keywords

• cancer cachexia
• diagnostic criteria
• prognosis
• The Asian Working Group for Cachexia