Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40760652›Full record

SynthesisBMC cancer2025

Landscape of clinical trials in cancer cachexia: assessment of trends from 1995-2024.

Ana Regina Cabrera, Kaitlyn Parker, Deena B Snoke, Bart Hammig, Nicholas P Greene

Abstract readReviewSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Ana Regina Cabrera *Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Exercise Science Research Center, Cachexia Research Laboratory, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
Kaitlyn Parker *Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Exercise Science Research Center, Cachexia Research Laboratory, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
Deena B SnokeDepartment of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT, USA.
Bart HammigDepartment of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Public Health Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA.
Nicholas P GreeneDepartment of Health, Human Performance and Recreation, Exercise Science Research Center, Cachexia Research Laboratory, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA. npgreene@uark.edu.

Funding

Multidisciplinary Training in Lung BiologyT32HL076122 · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT &ST AGRIC COLLEGE · 2004 to 2005
$306k
NHLBI NIH HHS NHLBI T32- HL076122-18 (DBS)NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL076122
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCancer cachexia, a multifactorial syndrome characterized by unintentional weight loss, is a frequent complication of cancer that impacts patients’ quality of life and survival.

methodsIn this retrospective review, we evaluated the landscape of clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov for the consideration of potential factors contributing to biological human heterogeneity in their design and analyses.

resultsAmong clinical trials registered from 1995–2024, we observed increased inclusion of female participants, but lack of reporting of sex as a biological variable. The majority (~ 93%) of participants were of Caucasian descent. There was a substantial divergence in the diagnostic criteria and a wide range of tools employed to measure cancer cachexia. Lastly, few studies considered cancer type and stage as clinical variables.

conclusionOverall, a substantial gap remains in our knowledge of cancer cachexia in non-white individuals and in females. Ultimately, these underreported data across cancer cachexia clinical trials complicate the comparison and interpretation of clinical trials results, both in the broader human population and in specific cancer types. The current evolution of knowledge and new methodologies used for cancer cachexia assessment reinforce the need for a constant revision of the consensus definition and diagnosis criteria to align with current advances in our understanding of human heterogeneity in cancer cachexia.

Indexed as

CachexiaClinical Trials as TopicNeoplasmsFemaleHumansMaleQuality of LifeRetrospective StudiesSex FactorsBiological sexConsensusNeoplasmsQuality of lifeRetrospective studiesWeight loss

Identifiers

PMID40760652
PMCPMC12323138

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.