{"entity":{"id":"megestrol","kind":"drug","name":"Megestrol acetate","aka":[],"tldr":"Megestrol acetate is a hormone tablet used to ease advanced breast and womb cancer, and as a liquid to improve appetite and weight in people with cancer or AIDS-related wasting.","summary":"Megestrol acetate tablets were approved in 1971 for palliative treatment of advanced carcinoma of the breast or endometrium (recurrent, inoperable or metastatic disease); the oral suspension (1993) is indicated for anorexia, cachexia or unexplained weight loss in AIDS and is used off label for cancer-associated anorexia, where trials show weight gain mostly as fat and fluid. In breast cancer it was a standard second-line endocrine agent before aromatase inhibitors, which proved superior in the pivotal letrozole and anastrozole trials; in endometrial cancer it remains a guideline option for low-grade hormone-receptor-positive disease. Thromboembolism, adrenal suppression and hyperglycaemia are the notable risks.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-10","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megestrol_acetate","links":[{"label":"US label (DailyMed)","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=megestrol"},{"label":"NCI drug page","url":"https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/megestrolacetate"}],"tags":["nci-list","generic","supportive"],"related":[],"cancers":["breast-hr-positive","endometrial"],"sections":[],"technologies":["endocrine-therapy","cachexia-appetite-pharmacotherapy"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["bms"],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["nct06979596","nct07150663"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"brand":"Megace","modality":"Synthetic progestin (hormonal)","mechanism":"Progestational agent; antitumour effect in hormone-responsive breast and endometrial cancer is thought to act through progesterone receptor signalling and suppression of the pituitary-gonadal axis; appetite stimulation is separate and not fully understood.","approvals":[{"region":"US","year":1971,"indication":"Palliative treatment of advanced carcinoma of the breast or endometrium"},{"region":"US","year":1993,"indication":"Anorexia, cachexia or unexplained weight loss in AIDS (oral suspension)"}],"mechanismSteps":[],"toxicity":[],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/megestrol/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"endometrial","kind":"cancer","name":"Endometrial cancer","route":"/cancers/endometrial/"},{"id":"breast-hr-positive","kind":"cancer","name":"HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer","route":"/cancers/breast-hr-positive/"}],"technology":[{"id":"cachexia-appetite-pharmacotherapy","kind":"technology","name":"Cachexia pharmacotherapy: GDF-15 blockade, anamorelin, olanzapine","route":"/technologies/cachexia-appetite-pharmacotherapy/"},{"id":"endocrine-therapy","kind":"technology","name":"Endocrine therapy (SERMs, AIs, SERDs)","route":"/technologies/endocrine-therapy/"}],"company":[{"id":"bms","kind":"company","name":"Bristol Myers Squibb","route":"/companies/bms/"},{"id":"endo","kind":"company","name":"Endo (now Keenova Therapeutics and Par Health)","route":"/companies/endo/"}],"trial":[{"id":"nct06979596","kind":"trial","name":"A Study of MK-5684 in People With Certain Solid Tumors (MK-5684-015/OMAHA-015)","route":"/trials/nct06979596/"},{"id":"nct07150663","kind":"trial","name":"Nanocrystalline Megestrol Acetate in Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer","route":"/trials/nct07150663/"},{"id":"rainbo","kind":"trial","name":"RAINBO","route":"/trials/rainbo/"}],"target":[{"id":"pgr","kind":"target","name":"Progesterone receptor (PGR)","route":"/targets/pgr/"}]}}