title: "Enjoy glass of wine before eating:" a randomized trial to test the orexigenic effects of this advice in advanced cancer patients.
abstract: Because the extant literature suggests wine increases appetite, this study sought to determine whether this effect could be observed in advanced cancer patients with appetite loss.
  
  
  
  Advanced cancer patients with self-reported loss of appetite were randomly assigned to white wine with ≤15 % alcohol content twice a day for 3-4 weeks versus a nutritional supplement, such as Boost® or Ensure®. Patients assigned to wine were encouraged to also take a nutritional supplement, whereas patients assigned to the nutritional supplement arm were told to abstain completely from alcohol. Patient-reported outcomes were captured with a validated questionnaire to assess the primary endpoint of appetite improvement.
  
  
  
  A total of 141 patients (118 evaluable) were enrolled. Twenty-eight patients (48 %) in the wine arm reported an improvement in appetite at some point during the treatment period, whereas 22 patients (37 %) assigned to the nutritional supplement arm also reported improvement (p = 0.35). Other appetite-related questions and questionnaire items showed no statistically significant differences between treatment arms. In both arms, approximately 9 % of patients achieved weight stability (p = 0.98); median survival was not statistically different. Both interventions were well tolerated.
  
  
  
  As prescribed in this trial, wine does not improve appetite or weight in advanced cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. jatoi.aminah@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Aminah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jatoi
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Satele
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center of Kansas, Wichita, KS, USA.
authors.forename: Shaker
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dakhil
authors.affiliation: Illinois Cancer Care - Peoria, Peoria, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Pankaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center of Kansas, Wichita, KS, USA.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Illinois Cancer Care - Peoria, Peoria, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Sachdev P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Philip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Stella
authors.affiliation: Geisinger Wyoming Valley, Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.affiliation: University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Schulze Center for Novel Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Zapico
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000855:Anorexia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects*; D001835:Body Weight; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014920:Wine
keywords: Anorexia; Appetite; Cancer; Hunger; Weight loss