HOW DOES CACHEXIA INFLUENCE HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE BURDEN AMONG ADULTS WITH SOLID TUMOR CANCERS IN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE?
Author(s)
Martine C. Maculaitis, MA, PhD1, Nemin Chen, PhD, MPH1, Kathy Annunziata, MA1, Kathryn Perkins, PharmD2, Abaigeal Jackson, PhD3, Joseph C. Cappelleri, MPH, MS, PhD4, Adam E. Carie, PhD2, Jarjieh Fang, MPH2, Joshua A. Roth, MHA, PhD2, Patrick Hlavacek, MPH2.
1Oracle Life Sciences, Austin, TX, USA, 2Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA, 3Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, 4Pfizer Inc., Groton, CT, USA.
1Oracle Life Sciences, Austin, TX, USA, 2Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA, 3Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, 4Pfizer Inc., Groton, CT, USA.
OBJECTIVES: Cachexia, a complex metabolic syndrome characterized by involuntary body weight loss with or without adipose tissue loss, is common among patients with cancer. Cachexia’s impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients in oncology is not well-understood, and our study sought to examine these relationships among adults with solid tumor cancers in the United States (US) and Europe.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study using population-based data from the 2024 US and 2025 EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom) National Health and Wellness Surveys was conducted. Adults (aged ≥18 years) with non-missing body mass index (BMI) data (based on self-reported height and body weight) who self-reported a colon, lung, or pancreatic cancer diagnosis were included in analyses. Cachexia cohort included patients who self-reported >5% body weight loss in the past 6 months (if BMI ≥20kg/m2) or >2% body weight loss (if BMI <20kg/m2); all others were controls. Cohorts were compared on the EQ-5D index and visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) and RAND-36 (Global Health [GHC], Physical Health [PHC], Mental Health [MHC] Composites, and 8 domains) scores following propensity score matching (1:2; 1:1 as needed).
RESULTS: Analyses included N=127 (cachexia) and N=231 (controls) in EU5 and N=188 (cachexia) and N=334 (controls) in US. The US cachexia cohort had significantly (p<0.05) lower scores than controls on 5 RAND-36 domains and had significantly (p<0.05) lower GHC (37.2 vs. 40.2), PHC (36.8 vs. 38.9), and MHC (40.1 vs. 43.2) scores. The EU5 cachexia cohort had significantly (p<0.05) lower scores than controls on Physical Functioning (37.6 vs. 40.2) and General Health Perceptions (35.8 vs. 38.0) RAND-36 domains and had significantly (p<0.05) lower EQ-5D index (0.63 vs. 0.69) and EQ-VAS (52.1 vs. 59.1) scores.
CONCLUSIONS: Cachexia negatively affects HRQoL in both US and EU5, with this impact observed across several domains among adults with colon, lung, or pancreatic cancer.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study using population-based data from the 2024 US and 2025 EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and United Kingdom) National Health and Wellness Surveys was conducted. Adults (aged ≥18 years) with non-missing body mass index (BMI) data (based on self-reported height and body weight) who self-reported a colon, lung, or pancreatic cancer diagnosis were included in analyses. Cachexia cohort included patients who self-reported >5% body weight loss in the past 6 months (if BMI ≥20kg/m2) or >2% body weight loss (if BMI <20kg/m2); all others were controls. Cohorts were compared on the EQ-5D index and visual analog scale (EQ-VAS) and RAND-36 (Global Health [GHC], Physical Health [PHC], Mental Health [MHC] Composites, and 8 domains) scores following propensity score matching (1:2; 1:1 as needed).
RESULTS: Analyses included N=127 (cachexia) and N=231 (controls) in EU5 and N=188 (cachexia) and N=334 (controls) in US. The US cachexia cohort had significantly (p<0.05) lower scores than controls on 5 RAND-36 domains and had significantly (p<0.05) lower GHC (37.2 vs. 40.2), PHC (36.8 vs. 38.9), and MHC (40.1 vs. 43.2) scores. The EU5 cachexia cohort had significantly (p<0.05) lower scores than controls on Physical Functioning (37.6 vs. 40.2) and General Health Perceptions (35.8 vs. 38.0) RAND-36 domains and had significantly (p<0.05) lower EQ-5D index (0.63 vs. 0.69) and EQ-VAS (52.1 vs. 59.1) scores.
CONCLUSIONS: Cachexia negatively affects HRQoL in both US and EU5, with this impact observed across several domains among adults with colon, lung, or pancreatic cancer.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
PCR185
Topic
Patient-Centered Research
Topic Subcategory
Patient-reported Outcomes & Quality of Life Outcomes
Disease
Diabetes/Endocrine/Metabolic Disorders (including obesity), Oncology