• DOI:10.1210/JC.2003-031768
• Corpus ID: 16288010

Ghrelin increases energy intake in cancer patients with impaired appetite: acute, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

@article{Neary2004GhrelinIE,
  title={Ghrelin increases energy intake in cancer patients with impaired appetite: acute, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.},
  author={Nicola Marguerite Neary and Caroline J. Small and Alison M. Wren and Jennifer L Lee and Maralyn Rose Druce and Carlo Palmieri and Gary S. Frost and Mohammad A. Ghatei and R. Charles Coombes and Stephen Robert Bloom},
  journal={The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism},
  year={2004},
  volume={89 6},
  pages={
          2832-6
        }
}

• N. Neary, C. Small, +7 authors S. Bloom
• Published 1 June 2004
• Medicine, Psychology, Biology
• The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism

There is a pressing need for more effective appetite-stimulatory therapies for many patient groups including those with cancer. We have previously demonstrated that the gastric hormone ghrelin potently enhances appetite in healthy volunteers. Here, we performed an acute, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over clinical trial to determine whether ghrelin stimulates appetite in cancer patients with anorexia. Seven cancer patients who reported loss of appetite were recruited from oncology clinics at Charing Cross Hospital. The main outcome measures were energy intake from a buffet meal during ghrelin or saline infusion and meal appreciation as assessed by visual analog scale. A marked increase in energy intake (31 +/- 7%; P = 0.005) was observed with ghrelin infusion compared with saline control, and every patient ate more. The meal appreciation score was greater by 28 +/- 8% (P = 0.02) with ghrelin treatment. No side effects were observed. The stimulatory effects of ghrelin on food intake and meal appreciation seen in this preliminary study suggest that ghrelin could be an effective treatment for cancer anorexia and possibly for appetite loss in other patient groups.