# Megestrol acetate

Source: https://onco.cc/drugs/megestrol/  
OnCo record `megestrol` (Treatment). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

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.

## Fields

- Kind: Treatment
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: nci-list; generic; supportive
- 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: US 1971: Palliative treatment of advanced carcinoma of the breast or endometrium; US 1993: Anorexia, cachexia or unexplained weight loss in AIDS (oral suspension)

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megestrol_acetate
- US label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=megestrol
- NCI drug page: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/drugs/megestrolacetate

## Connected records

- cancers: [Endometrial cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/endometrial/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/)
- technologies: [Cachexia pharmacotherapy: GDF-15 blockade, anamorelin, olanzapine](https://onco.cc/technologies/cachexia-appetite-pharmacotherapy/), [Endocrine therapy (SERMs, AIs, SERDs)](https://onco.cc/technologies/endocrine-therapy/)
- companies: [Bristol Myers Squibb](https://onco.cc/companies/bms/), [Endo (now Keenova Therapeutics and Par Health)](https://onco.cc/companies/endo/)
- trials: [A Study of MK-5684 in People With Certain Solid Tumors (MK-5684-015/OMAHA-015)](https://onco.cc/trials/nct06979596/), [Nanocrystalline Megestrol Acetate in Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy for Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07150663/), [RAINBO](https://onco.cc/trials/rainbo/)
- targets: [Progesterone receptor (PGR)](https://onco.cc/targets/pgr/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/megestrol.json