The correlation between fatigue, physical function, the systemic inflammatory response, and psychological distress in patients with advanced lung cancer.

Background: Functional disability is reported frequently in fatigued cancer patients, but little is known about the correlation between fatigue and objective physical function. In addition, from previous work, the systemic inflammatory response and psychological distress appear to be related to fatigue.

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with metastatic or locally advanced lung carcinoma and 15 age-matched and gender-matched, healthy controls completed the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scale, a visual analogue weakness score, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale.

Adiponectin and the systemic inflammatory response in weight-losing patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between adiponectin and the systemic inflammatory response in weight-losing patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Measurement of anthropometry, acute phase proteins, interleukin-6, leptin (total and free) and adiponectin were carried out on healthy subjects (n = 13) and non-small cell lung cancer patients with weight loss (n = 20). The groups were age and sex matched.

A prospective study of the impact of weight loss and the systemic inflammatory response on quality of life in patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer.

The relationship between weight loss, the systemic inflammatory response and quality of life in patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was studied. The extent of weight loss, the systemic inflammatory response (C-reactive protein) and quality of life (EORTC-QLQ-C30) was measured in 106 patients with inoperable NSCLC (stage III and IV). Approximately 40% had more than 5% weight loss and almost 80% had elevated circulating C-reactive protein concentrations (>10 mg/l).

Comparison of simple acid-ethanol precipitation with gel exclusion chromatography for measuring leptin binding in serum of normal subjects and cancer patients.

Background: In humans, leptin circulates in a free form and is also bound to macromolecules. The aim of the present study was to compare a rapid acid-ethanol precipitation (AEP) method of measuring bound leptin with the more laborious gel exclusion chromatography (GEC) reference procedure. Serum samples collected from healthy subjects and cancer patients were used in this comparison.