PALLIATIVE CARE Anamorelin Provides Benefit to Patients with Cachexia

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology | Published online 19 Dec 2017; doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2017.204

PALLIATIVE CARE Anamorelin provides benefit to patients with cachexia

Cachexia is a common occurrence in patients with such as handgrip strength or 6-minute walk advanced-stage cancer, with no specific treatment distance. These findings further demonstrate approaches currently approved. Now, data from that cachexia is a multifactorial, chronic a phase II study involving Japanese patients condition that cannot simply be reversed through with unresectable stage III/IV non-small-cell improvement of appetite and/or food intake over lung cancer confirm the efficacy of the ghrelin a 12-week period. Similarly, outcomes of the prior receptor agonist anamorelin in this population. ROMANA 3 trial revealed no improvement in A total of 174 patients were randomly assigned motor function after 24 weeks of treatment. to receive either daily oral anamorelin or These findings confirm the conclusions of the placebo for a total of 12 weeks, with a primary previous ROMANA trials and also demonstrate outcome measure of lean body mass (LBM). that anamorelin is effective in patients with a Patients receiving anamorelin had a significant substantially lower mean body weight than that improvement in LBM relative to that of patients of patients in the ROMANA trials. Anamorelin is in the placebo group of 1.56 kg (P < 0.0001). unlikely to entirely cure patients with cachexia, Improvements in several secondary outcome although the regulatory approval and subsequent measures, including total body mass, fat mass use of this agent could improve the quality of life and quality-of-life-related outcomes, such of many patients with this syndrome. as appetite and enjoyment of food, were also Peter Sidaway reported. No significant differences in the risk of adverse events were observed between groups. ORIGINAL ARTICLE Katakami, N. et al. Anamorelin (ONO-7643) for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer and Notably, despite improving the primary cachexia: results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo- outcome measure, no significant improvements controlled, multicenter study of Japanese patients (ONO- were observed in measures of motor function, 7643-04). Cancer http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cncr.31128 (2017)