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Published on: November 30, 2016
Association between anamorelin therapy and renal function in patients with cancer cachexia: a propensity
Ayaka Sato1, Takahiro Sumimoto2, Ryota Tanaka1
1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Oita University Hospital, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama, Yufu, Oita, 879-5593, Japan.
Purpose:
This study investigated the association between anamorelin (ANAM) treatment and longitudinal changes in renal function in patients with cancer cachexia.
Methods:
This retrospective, single-centre, observational cohort study reviewed electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with cancer cachexia. Renal function parameters-including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)-were compared between patients treated with ANAM and those not receiving ANAM. Propensity score matching was applied to adjust for baseline imbalance in patient characteristics. Renal deterioration was defined as ≥ 10% increase in BUN or ≥ 10% serum creatinine, or ≥ 10% decrease in eGFR. Cox proportional hazards models were applied to BUN, serum creatinine, and eGFR deterioration, respectively.
Results:
After propensity score matching, ANAM treatment was associated with significantly greater improvements in serum creatinine and eGFR over an 8-week period compared with non-ANAM treatment. Multivariable Cox regression analyses demonstrated that ANAM use was independently associated with a reduction in risk of ≥ 10% increase in serum creatinine and ≥ 10% decrease in eGFR. Longitudinal analyses revealed improvements in renal function markers in the early phase after initiation of ANAM, followed by a gradual return toward baseline levels.
Conclusion:
ANAM treatment was associated with improvements in renal function markers and a lower risk of renal function deterioration in patients with cancer cachexia. These findings suggest that ANAM may potentially confer renoprotective effects in addition to its established therapeutic benefits for cachexia.
