Ñý¼§Ö±²¥

MedpageToday

Randomized Study of Olanzapine for Chemotherapy-Related Anorexia in Locally Advanced or Metastatic Gastric, Hepatopancreaticobiliary, and Lung Cancer

– An ASCO Reading Room selection


This Reading Room is a collaboration between Ñý¼§Ö±²¥Â® and:

Medpage Today
Below is the abstract of the article. or on the link below.

Purpose

Anorexia occurs in 30%-80% of patients with advanced malignancies, which may be worsened with chemotherapy. This trial assessed the efficacy of olanzapine in stimulating appetite and improving weight gain in patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods

Adults (≥18 years) with untreated, locally advanced, or metastatic gastric, hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB), and lung cancers were randomly assigned (double-blind) to receive olanzapine (2.5 mg once a day for 12 weeks) or placebo along with chemotherapy. Both groups received standard nutritional assessment and dietary advice. The primary outcomes were the proportion of patients with weight gain > 5% and the improvement in appetite (assessed by the visual analog scale [VAS] and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy system of Quality-of-Life questionnaires Anorexia Cachexia subscale [FAACT ACS]). Secondary end points were change in nutritional status, quality of life (QOL), and chemotherapy toxicity.

Results

We enrolled 124 patients (olanzapine, 63; and placebo, 61) with a median age of 55 years (18-78 years), of whom 112 (olanzapine, 58; and placebo, 54) were analyzable. The majority (n = 99, 80%) had metastatic cancer (gastric [n = 68, 55%] > lung [n = 43, 35%] > HPB [n = 13, 10%]). The olanzapine arm had a greater proportion of patients with a weight gain of > 5% (35 of 58 [60%] vs 5 of 54 [9%], P<0.001) and improvement in appetite by VAS (25 of 58 [43%] vs 7 of 54 [13%], P<0.001) and by FAACT ACS (scores ≥37:13 of 58 [22%] vs 2 of 54 [4%], P=0.004). Patients on olanzapine had better QOL, nutritional status, and lesser chemotoxicity. Side effects attributable to olanzapine were minimal.

Conclusion

Low-dose, daily olanzapine is a simple, inexpensive, well-tolerated intervention that significantly improves appetite and weight gain in newly diagnosed patients on chemotherapy.

Read an interview about the study here.

Read the full article

Randomized Study of Olanzapine for Chemotherapy-Related Anorexia in Locally Advanced or Metastatic Gastric, Hepatopancreaticobiliary, and Lung Cancer

Primary Source

Journal of Clinical Oncology

Source Reference:

ASCO Publications Corner

ASCO Publications Corner