Efficacy of Curcumin on Treating Cancer Anorexia-Cachexia Syndrome in Locally or Advanced Head and Neck Cancer: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomised Phase IIa Trial (CurChexia)
Table 1
Baseline characteristics of the patients (intention-to-treat population).
Characteristic
Curcumin group (N = 10)
Matching placebo group (N = 10)
Age (years)
Median
58
60
Range
22–85
38–85
ECOG performance status score†, n (%)
0
1 (10)
1 (10)
1
8 (80)
9 (90)
2
1 (10)
0 (0)
Head and neck cancer stage, no. (%)
Locally advanced
8 (80)
9 (90)
Metastatic or recurrent
2 (20)
1 (10)
Head and neck cancer subgroup, no. (%)
Nasopharyngeal cancer
1 (10)
1 (10)
Squamous cell head and neck cancer
9 (90)
9 (90)
Comorbid disease‡, n (%)
2 (20)
1 (10)
Surgery, n (%)
3 (30)
2 (20)
Smoking, n (%)
7 (70)
8 (80)
Treatment
Concurrent chemoradiation, n (%)
6 (60)
8 (80)
Sequential chemoradiation, n (%)
2 (20)
0 (0)
Radiation only, n (%)
0 (0)
1 (10)
Palliative chemotherapy, n (%)
2 (20)
1 (10)
Mean daily calories intake ± SD (kcal/kg/day)
27.5 ± 2.500
27.92 ± 2.465
†Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status scores range from 0 to 5, with 0 indicating no symptoms, 1 indicating mild symptoms, and a higher number indicating increasing degrees of disability. ‡Comorbidity disease defined by metabolic diseases, diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia.
