Patients with gastrointestinal cancers who also have cachexia face higher odds of postoperative complications and longer hospital stays, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Supportive Care in Cancer. The analysis, which pooled data from 34 studies involving 27,473 participants, found that cancer cachexia was significantly associated with higher odds of postoperative complications, with an odds ratio of 1.38 (95% confidence interval 1.11–1.72).
Cachexia is described by the authors as a critical nutritional problem, particularly among patients with gastrointestinal cancer, and one that is potentially linked to unfavorable outcomes.
Not every outcome examined showed a significant association. The pooled analysis found no significant association between cancer cachexia and chemotherapy-related adverse events, with an odds ratio of 1.42 (95% confidence interval 0.57–3.54), an interval that crosses the threshold of no effect.
Two outcomes could not be quantitatively synthesized at all. No studies evaluating radiotherapy-related adverse events met the inclusion criteria, and only one study evaluating readmission was included, leaving those questions largely unanswered by the current evidence base.
The authors searched five electronic databases for relevant studies. Cohort studies investigating the association of cachexia with postoperative complications, chemotherapy-related adverse events, radiotherapy-related adverse events, length of hospital stay, and readmission in patients with gastrointestinal cancers were eligible for inclusion.
The research team, led by Naohiro Furuya, with Takuya Yanagisawa, Noriatsu Tatematsu and Kazuhiro Hayashi among the authors, emphasized that the findings should be interpreted with caution. All pooled analyses showed considerable to substantial heterogeneity, meaning the individual studies varied widely in their results and characteristics.
Because of this substantial heterogeneity and the very low certainty of the evidence, the authors concluded that the findings cannot be considered definitive. The review was published on 23 October 2026 as Volume 34, article number 1150 of the journal.
The study’s conclusions underscore both the potential clinical relevance of cachexia in gastrointestinal cancer care and the limits of what the existing literature can establish. While the pooled estimates point to an increased risk of postoperative complications and longer hospital stays among patients with cachexia, the certainty of that evidence remains very low, and the effects of cachexia on chemotherapy-related adverse events, radiotherapy-related adverse events and readmission remain insufficiently characterized.
Subject of Research: The association between cancer cachexia and treatment-related adverse outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal cancers.
Article Title: Association between cancer cachexia and treatment-related adverse outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Article References: Furuya, N., Yanagisawa, T., Tatematsu, N., & Hayashi, K. (2026). Association between cancer cachexia and treatment-related adverse outcomes in patients with gastrointestinal cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Supportive Care in Cancer, 34(11), Article 1150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-026-11408-0
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1007/s00520-026-11408-0
Keywords: cancer cachexia, gastrointestinal cancers, postoperative complications, hospital stay, chemotherapy adverse events, systematic review, meta-analysis, supportive care, heterogeneity, evidence certainty, Association, between
News Source: Nathaniel Bowman. (October 28, 2026). Cancer cachexia linked to worse surgical outcomes in gastrointestinal cancers, review finds. Scienmag.
