Effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate on appetite, weight, and quality of life in advanced-stage non-hormone-sensitive cancer: a placebo-controlled multicenter study.

PURPOSETo investigate the effects of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on appetite, weight, and quality of life (QL) in patients with advanced-stage, incurable, non-hormone-sensitive cancer.PATIENTS AND METHODSTwo hundred six eligible patients were randomized between double-blind MPA 500 mg twice daily or placebo. Appetite (0 to 10 numerical rating scale), weight, and QL (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire [EORTC-QLQ-C30]) were assessed before the start of treatment (t = 0), and 6 weeks (t = 6) and 12 weeks (t = 12) thereafter.RESULTSOne hundred thirty-four patients (68 MPA and 66 placebo) were assessable at t = 6 and 99 patients (53 MPA and 46 placebo) at t = 12. A beneficial effect of MPA on appetite was observed after both 6 weeks (P = .008) and 12 weeks (P = .01) of treatment. After 12 weeks, a mean weight gain of 0.6 +/- 4.4 kg was seen in the MPA, versus an ongoing mean weight loss of 1.4 +/- 4.6 kg in the placebo group. This difference of 2.0 kg...