Megestrol to Limit Weight Loss and Improve Quality of Life in Treating Patients With Head and Neck Cancer

September 7, 2021 updated by: Wake Forest University Health Sciences

A Phase III, Double-Blind, Randomized Study Of The Effect Of Megestrol Acetate On Weight And Health Related Quality Of Life In Head And Neck Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy

RATIONALE: Megestrol helps improve appetite. It is not yet known if megestrol is effective in limiting weight loss caused by cancer.

PURPOSE: Randomized phase III trial to determine the effectiveness of megestrol in limiting weight loss and improving quality of life in patients who have head and neck cancer and are undergoing radiation therapy.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

  • Determine the effect of megestrol on the weight of patients with head and neck cancer who are undergoing localized radiotherapy.
  • Determine whether health-related quality of life improves in patients treated with megestrol.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to type of treatment (radiotherapy alone vs radiotherapy plus platinum-based chemotherapy vs radiotherapy plus non-platinum-based chemotherapy) and type of radiotherapy (primary vs postoperative). Patients are randomized to one of two treatment arms.

  • Arm I: Patients receive oral megestrol daily beginning within the first three days of radiotherapy and continuing during 5-7 weeks of radiotherapy and for 12 weeks after completion of radiotherapy.
  • Arm II: Patients receive oral placebo daily according to the schedule for megestrol in arm I.

Quality of life is assessed at baseline, at completion of radiotherapy, and then at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks after completion of radiotherapy.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 48-144 patients (24-72 per arm) will be accrued for this study within 14 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

13

Phase

  • Phase 3

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • North Carolina
      • Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157-1082
        • Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 120 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

  • Histologically proven resected or unresectable stage I-IV epithelial head and neck cancer
  • Must be scheduled to receive a total dose of radiotherapy of at least 5,000 cGy in fraction sizes of no greater than 200 cGy
  • No distant metastases

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age:

  • Over 18

Performance status:

  • ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy:

  • More than 3 months

Hematopoietic:

  • Not specified

Hepatic:

  • Not specified

Renal:

  • Not specified

Cardiovascular:

  • No history of congestive heart failure or thromboembolic events
  • No uncontrolled hypertension, active thromboembolic disease, or myocardial infarction within the past 3 months

Pulmonary:

  • No history of pulmonary edema

Other:

  • No other malignancy within the past 3 years except curatively treated carcinoma in situ of the cervix or nonmelanoma skin cancer
  • No feeding tube
  • No preexisting or uncontrolled diabetes with glycosylated hemoglobin greater than 10%
  • No history of Cushing's syndrome
  • No dietary restriction (salt, sugar, or lipid)
  • No serious medical or psychiatric illness that would preclude study
  • No significant ascites, pleural effusions, or edema that may inhibit oral food intake or invalidate weight measurements
  • Not pregnant or nursing
  • Negative pregnancy test
  • Fertile patients must use effective contraception

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy:

  • Not specified

Chemotherapy:

  • Prior chemotherapy allowed

Endocrine therapy:

  • At least 1 year since prior corticosteroids, estrogens, progestins, or any other steroid hormone
  • No concurrent estrogens or other progestins
  • Concurrent glucocorticoid replacement (10 mg of prednisone a day) allowed only if patient experiences moderate "stress" (e.g., infection, trauma, or fluid loss sufficient to require hospitalization and/or IV fluid replacement)

Radiotherapy:

  • See Disease Characteristics
  • No prior radiotherapy to the head and neck

Surgery:

  • Not specified

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Masking: Double

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Collaborators

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Kathryn M. Greven, MD, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 1, 2000

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 6, 2002

Study Completion (Actual)

September 6, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 6, 2000

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 25, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

July 28, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 9, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2021

Last Verified

September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • REBACDR0000068329
  • CCCWFU-97300
  • CCCWFU-0009
  • CCCWFU-BG00-228
  • NCI-P00-0174

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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