EFFECT OF MEDROXYPROGESTERONE ACETATE ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE ONCOLOGIC PATIENT : A MULTICENTRIC COOPERATIVE STUDY

: Anorexia and cachexia, major problems in patients with cancer, lead to decreased caloric intake and weight loss. Successful treatment of these conditions has a positive effect on patients' quality of life. Among the pharmacologic treatments, partial effects have been observed following administration of corticosteroids, anabolizing drugs and synthetic progestogens such as megestrol acetate and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA). The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether MPA is able to influence the quality of life of neoplastic patients undergoing different chemotherapeutic regimens and/or radiotherapy for different tumor types. A series of 279 cancer patients undergoing either chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy treatment for different tumor types was randomly allocated to receive either MPA or no treatment. We explored the effect of MPA oral suspension at the daily dose of 1000 mg for 12 weeks (group A) or no treatment (group B). Our data show an increase of body weight in group A patients and improvement in performance status. The outcome of the present study strongly demonstrates that therapy with MPA plays a fundamental role in ameliorating the complex symptomatology of cancer patients in intermediate or advanced stage of the disease undergoing casual treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.