Association of Weight Change, Inflammation Markers and Disease Staging with Survival of Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

Cancer-associated-cachexia represents a systemic syndrome of unintended weight-loss (WL) and systemic inflammation, affecting80% patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA). We aimed to evaluate the association of weight change (WC) with survival of patients treated with chemotherapy (ChT) for PA and the influence of disease staging. We also studied the prognostic and predictive value of inflammation-based scores.Observational, retrospective cohort study. Individuals were divided into two cohorts, according to WC (WL ≥5% vs. non-WL5%) after ChT. Main endpoints were weight change and survival time. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata software.Sixty-five patients were included (median age 69; 48% female), 60% with advanced disease. At 3 months after ChT start, 54% experienced WL. Advanced disease independently predicted WL (OR 2.10; 95% CI, 1.11-19.6;WL was an independent prognostic factor for survival. Particularly in early stage disease, interventions targeting this modifiable factor may translate into better outcomes for PA patients. NLR may be a surrogate marker of systemic inflammatory status in this setting.