Session Information
Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019
Session Title: General Rehabilitation Case & Research Report
Session Time: 11:15am-12:45pm
Location: Research Hub - Kiosk 1
Disclosures: Ishan Roy: Nothing to disclose
Objective: The prevalence of cachexia and its impact in the cancer rehabilitation population is unknown. Our goal was to determine the factors that impact incidence of cancer-associated cachexia prior to admission to acute inpatient rehabilitation (AIR).
Design: Retrospective cohort study
Setting: Ambulatory and acute care inpatient course preceding AIR.
Participants: 330 admissions to oncology services at an AIR hospital.
Interventions: Details regarding each patient’s preceding acute admission and oncologic history were collected.
Main Outcome Measures: Incidence of cachexia as measured by standardized thresholds for change in weight and body mass index over the 6 months prior to AIR.
Results: 58% of patients developed cachexia within 6 months prior to AIR, across a variety of cancers and reasons for acute care admission. Patients with hematologic malignancies were more likely to have cachexia prior to rehab compared with others (odds ratio (OR) – 2.7, P=.01), while breast cancer patients were less cachectic (OR – 0.21, P=.002). Admissions due primarily to infection were more likely to have cachexia (OR – 2.0, P=.009), while admissions for surgery were less likely to have cachexia (OR – 0.51, P=.009). Amongst oncologic history factors, cancer recurrence was significantly associated with cachexia (OR 3.8, P=<.0001) across all cancers, while stem cell treatment was associated with increased cachexia in those with hematologic malignancies (OR – 6.2, P=.005).
Conclusions: Cachexia affects a majority of cancer patients admitted to AIR, with hematologic cancer, infection in acute care, and recurrent cancer increasing odds of cachexia further. Further study is needed into the relationship between cachexia and rehabilitation in cancer patients.
Level of Evidence: Level I
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Roy I, Huang KI, Bhakta A, Spangenberg JM, Jayabalan P. Infection, Hematologic Cancer, and Cancer Recurrence Increase Odds of Developing Cachexia Prior to Acute Inpatient Cancer Rehabilitation [abstract]. PM R. 2019; 11(S2)(suppl 2). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/infection-hematologic-cancer-and-cancer-recurrence-increase-odds-of-developing-cachexia-prior-to-acute-inpatient-cancer-rehabilitation/. Accessed May 15, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2019
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/infection-hematologic-cancer-and-cancer-recurrence-increase-odds-of-developing-cachexia-prior-to-acute-inpatient-cancer-rehabilitation/