Impact of Initial Body Weight Loss on Prognosis in Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: Insights From a Single-Center Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a poor prognosis, with body weight loss commonly observed at diagnosis. However, the impact on PC prognosis of weight loss at the time of diagnosis on PC prognosis is unknown. Methods This retrospective, single-center study enrolled consecutively patients diagnosed with metastatic or locally advanced PC or resectable PC who were intolerant of or refused surgery. Patients who had lost more than 5% of their body weight or more than 2% and had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 20 kg/m2 at diagnosis were classified as experiencing body weight loss. Patients were subclassified into 2 groups: patients with and without weight loss. The study evaluated patient-related and PC-related factors affecting prognosis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess factors affecting prognosis. The primary endpoint was overall survival. Additionally, 1:1 propensity score matching was performed to reduce bias. Results In total, 220 patients were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 74 years, and 49.1% were male. Weight loss at diagnosis was observed in 43.2% of patients. There were no significant differences in clinical factors, except for anthropometric parameters, between the groups. The median survival time did not differ between the weight loss and no weight loss groups (149 and 173 days, respectively, P = .669). After matching, no significant differences in survival times were observed between the 2 groups. Conclusions This study found no association between weight loss at diagnosis and prognosis in patients with advanced PC treated with best supportive care or chemotherapy.