Evaluating Outcomes Of Pancreatic Cancer Patients With Eacehxia

e15208 Background: Although cachexia is a common complication in pancreatic cancer patients and a risk factor for poor outcomes, physicians do not necessarily diagnose and treat it. In a nationally representative cancer database, we investigated the extent of diagnosed cachexia and its treatment in pancreatic cancer patients. We also evaluated if treatment with cachexia drugs (i.e. megestrol and dronabinol) are associated with improved outcomes in pancreatic cancer patients. Methods: We employed data on patients with primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma represented in the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results tumor registry and Medicare claims database between 2007 and 2009. The study sample comprised of 8619 patients who were continually enrolled in Medicare Parts A, B and D, for whom diagnostic codes and prescription drug data were available. Cachexia was defined as ICD-9 coded diagnosis of cachexia, anorexia, wasting, or weight loss following cancer diagnosis, and/or prescription for megestrol...