BACKGROUND: Cancer cachexia presents a significant challenge, but the ghrelin agonist anamorelin shows promise as a potential treatment. This study examined whether the baseline systemic inflammatory response (SIR) (measured by the modified Glasgow Prognostic Score [mGPS]), low BMI or greater weight loss, was associated with a differential treatment effect of anamorelin in people with cachexia and non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: ROMANA 1 and ROMANA 2 were double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised Phase 3 trials that enrolled people with inoperable stage III/IV NSCLC with cachexia (≥ 5% weight loss within 6 months or body mass index [BMI] <
20 kg/m RESULTS: Seven hundred ninety-five patients had available data. Anamorelin improved body weight (p <
0.001) and body composition parameters (LBM and FM, p <
0.01) in all mGPS groups. In patients with mGPS = 2, anamorelin increased weight >
5% and improved hand grip strength (HGS) and the Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale (FAACT A/CS). In patients with BMI <
20 kg/m CONCLUSION: Anamorelin improved body composition parameters in all patients, as well as physical function and symptom burden, particularly in patients with systemic inflammation, BMI <
20 kg/m TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT identifiers: ROMANA 1: NCT01387269
ROMANA 2: NCT01387282.