Phase II trial of megestrol in the supportive care of patients receiving dose-intensive chemotherapy.

Megestrol acetate was given daily to lung cancer patients undergoing therapy with CODE and to recurrent head and neck cancer patients receiving DEB/M in an attempt to prevent weight loss. The outcomes in this study were compared with the same outcomes in similar groups of patients treated with the same chemotherapy regimens, but in which prednisone was used as the main supportive drug along with co-trimoxazole, ketoconazole, and either cimetidine or sucralfate. Weight loss was less pronounced in the current patients than in the previous ones. Nevertheless, there were several factors that led us to conclude that megestrol is not an adequate substitute for prednisone in patients receiving this kind of chemotherapy.