Risks and benefits of various therapies for cancer anorexia

A placebo-controlled, randomized trial assessed the activity, tolerance, and degree of weight gain and anorexia of two doses of megestrol acetate in patients with advanced cancer and cachexia. Patients received either low-dose (480 mg/day) or high-dose (960 mg/day) megestrol acetate or placebo for 8 weeks. As of March 1991, 91 patients had been randomized; 65 patients were evaluable. Median initial weight loss in all patients ranged from 13 to 16%. Further weight loss was seen in 13 of 17 patients in the placebo group, compared with 10 of 27 and 6 of 21 in the low- and high-dose megestrol acetate groups, respectively. Eight of 27 patients in the low-dose-group and 9 of 21 in the high-dose group gained weight, with a median of 3 and 4 kg, respectively. Beneficial effects of megestrol acetate were seen in 63 and 71% of the low- and high-dose groups, respectively, compared with 24% of the placebo group. Side effects of megestrol acetate were mild. No correlation between megestrol acetate dosage and weight gain was found, but there was a tendency for increased weight in more patients taking high-dose megestrol acetate.