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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.
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.
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.
1.Megestrol acetate acts on its target, the hormone receptor or the enzyme that makes the hormone.
| Region | Year | Indication |
|---|---|---|
| US | 1971 | Palliative treatment of advanced carcinoma of the breast or endometrium |
| US | 1993 | Anorexia, cachexia or unexplained weight loss in AIDS (oral suspension) |
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Query for this drug: (TITLE:"Megestrol acetate" OR ABSTRACT:"Megestrol acetate" OR TITLE:"Megace" OR ABSTRACT:"Megace") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Megestrol acetate, not a curated reading list.
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