Gordon, J.N., Trebble, T.M., Ellis, R.D., Duncan, H.D., Johns, T., & Goggin, P.M. (2005). Thalidomide in the treatment of cancer cachexia: A randomised placebo controlled trial. Gut, 54, 540–545.
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of thalidomide in attenuating weight loss in patients with cachexia secondary to advanced pancreatic cancer
Fifty patients were randomized to receive 200 mg of thalidomide by mouth daily or placebo for 24 weeks. At four weeks, 33 patients were evaluated; at eight weeks, 20 patients were evaluated.
Patients were included in the study if they
Patients were excluded if they
The study was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
At four weeks, 33 patients were evaluable. The thalidomide arm gained 0.37 kg in weight and 1 cm3 of arm circumference muscle mass. The placebo arm lost 2.21 kg in weight and 4.46 cm3 of arm circumference muscle mass.
At eight weeks, 20 patients were evaluable. The thalidomide arm lost 0.06 kg in weight and 0.5 cm3 of arm circumference muscle mass. The placebo arm lost 3.62 kg in weight and 8.4 cm3 of arm circumference muscle mass.
Thalidomide was well tolerated and effective at attenuating weight loss and loss of lean body mass. Findings were unable to demonstrate that attenuation in weight loss led to improvement in quality of life.