Megestrol Acetate With or Without Pterostilbene in Treating Patients With Endometrial Cancer Undergoing Hysterectomy

Open-Label Randomized Phase II Trial of Megestrol Acetate With or Without Pterostilbene in Patients With Endometrial Cancer Scheduled for Hysterectomy

This phase II trial studies how well megestrol acetate with or without pterostilbene works in treating patients with endometrial cancer undergoing hysterectomy. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as megestrol acetate, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading. Pterostilbene is an antioxidant found in blueberries or grapes, and it has been shown to be effective in killing tumor cells and reducing cancer burden. It is not yet known whether giving megestrol acetate with or without pterostilbene may work better in treating patients with endometrial cancer.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Atypical Endometrial Hyperplasia; Endometrial Carcinoma
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Megestrol Acetate; Biological: Pterostilbene

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. Determine the effect of megestrol acetate (MA) plus pterostilbene (PTE) versus MA alone on tumor proliferation (Ki-67) during the preoperative window in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) who are scheduled for hysterectomy.

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVES:

I. Determine the effect of MA plus PTE versus MA alone on histologic response during the preoperative window in patients with EC or endometrial complex atypical hyperplasia who are scheduled for hysterectomy.

II. Explore biological characteristics of tumors to determine potential biomarkers which could select for treatment eligibility in future studies.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients receive pterostilbene orally (PO) twice daily (BID) and megestrol acetate PO BID for 3 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unaccepted toxicity.

ARM II: Patients receive megestrol acetate PO BID for 3 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unaccepted toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 6 weeks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 44
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Duarte, California, United States, 91010
      • City of Hope Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Documented informed consent of the participant and/or legally authorized representative
• Willing to undergo an intraoperative biopsy/or standard of care tissue collection during surgery, following completion of treatment with MA +/- PTE
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0-2
• Histologically confirmed EC or complex atypical hyperplasia of the endometrium
• Candidate for a total hysterectomy with or without bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
• About to initiate preoperative window period, with planned hysterectomy scheduled

• Platelets >= 100,000/mm^3

  • NOTE: Platelet transfusions are not permitted within 14 days of platelet assessment unless cytopenia is secondary to disease involvement
• Total bilirubin =< 1.5 X upper limit of normal (ULN)
• Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) =< 1.5 x ULN
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 1.5 x ULN
• Creatinine clearance of >= 60 mL/min per 24 hour urine test or the Cockcroft-Gault formula
• Women of childbearing potential: negative urine or serum pregnancy test in premenopausal women. Postmenopausal women do not need to undergo a pregnancy test. If the urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required

Exclusion Criteria:

• Pterostilbene supplements within 30 days prior to day 1 of protocol therapy
• Any of the following phytochemical-based supplements within 30 days prior to day 1 of protocol therapy: resveratrol, genistein, and quercetin
• Chemotherapy for EC
• Allergic reaction/hypersensitivity to similar agents, excipients

• Unstable cardiac disease as defined by one of the following:

  • Cardiac events such as myocardial infarction (MI) within the past 6 months
  • NYHA (New York Heart Association) heart failure class III-IV
  • Uncontrolled atrial fibrillation or hypertensive emergency/urgency (defined as systolic blood pressure >= 180 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure >= 120 mmHg)
• Active or history of recent thromboembolism or stroke, within the past 6 months
• Cushing's syndrome
• Acute infection requiring systemic (intravenous) treatment
• Known history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
• Known active hepatitis B or C infection
• Inability to swallow tablets/capsules
• Any other condition that would, in the investigator's judgment, contraindicate the patient's participation in the clinical study due to safety concerns or compliance with clinical study procedures, e.g., infection/inflammation, intestinal obstruction, unable to swallow medication, social/ psychological issues, etc
• Prospective participants who, in the opinion of the investigator, may not be able to comply with all study procedures (including compliance issues related to feasibility/logistics)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Arm II (megestrol acetate); Patients receive megestrol acetate PO BID for 3 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unaccepted toxicity.	Drug: Megestrol Acetate; Given PO; Other Names: Megace; 17-Hydroxy-6-methylpregna-4,6-diene-3,20-dione acetate; 17.alpha.-Acetoxy-6-methylpregna-4,6-diene-3,20-dione; 6-Dehydro-6-methyl-17.alpha.-acetoxyprogesterone; 6-Methyl-6-dehydro-17.alpha.-acetoxyprogesterone; BDH 1298; BDH-1298; Maygace; Megestat; Megestil; Niagestin; Ovaban; Pallace; SC-10363
Experimental: Arm I (pterostilbene, megestrol acetate); Patients receive 100mg pterostilbene BID and 80mg megestrol acetate PO BID for 3 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unaccepted toxicity.	Drug: Megestrol Acetate; Given PO; Other Names: Megace; 17-Hydroxy-6-methylpregna-4,6-diene-3,20-dione acetate; 17.alpha.-Acetoxy-6-methylpregna-4,6-diene-3,20-dione; 6-Dehydro-6-methyl-17.alpha.-acetoxyprogesterone; 6-Methyl-6-dehydro-17.alpha.-acetoxyprogesterone; BDH 1298; BDH-1298; Maygace; Megestat; Megestil; Niagestin; Ovaban; Pallace; SC-10363; Biological: Pterostilbene; Given PO; Other Names: 3'',5''-Dimethoxy-4-stilbenol; 3,5-Dimethoxy-4''-hydroxystilbene; Trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxystilbene

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Tumor Ki-67 Proliferation Index	Ki-67 represents a specific nuclear marker for cell proliferation that is measured by staining with specific antibodies by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. The Ki-67 proliferation index is defined as percent tumor cells staining positive, and measured on a continuous scale of 0-100%, with higher values indicating higher proliferation. Ki-67 hotspot values were assessed at two time-points during this study, prior to treatment with megace +/- pterostilbene (pre-treatment), and following completion of treatment (post-treatment). Descriptive statistics were used to compare treatment-associated percent change in Ki-67 proliferation index between the 2 study arms, using a 1-sided test with significance at p < 0.05.	Pre- and post-treatment up to 6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Histologic Response of Gland Cellularity	These histologic changes represent measures of growth and apoptosis, and will be separately scored in the pretreatment endometrial sample and the section of tumor from the hysterectomy (post-treatment sample). Gland cellularity will be assessed by counting the number of cells in one quarter of a high-power field (HPF) (average of 3 fields). The number of patients with an improvement in gland cellularity were compared between study arms.	Up to 6 weeks
Histologic Response of Mitotic Index	These histologic changes represent measures of growth and apoptosis, and will be separately scored in the pretreatment endometrial sample and the section of tumor from the hysterectomy (post-treatment sample). The mitotic index will be calculated as the number of mitoses per HPF (average of 3 fields). The number of patients with an improvement in mitotic index were compared between study arms.	Up to 6 weeks
Histologic Response of Metaplasia	These histologic changes represent measures of growth and apoptosis, and will be separately scored in the pretreatment endometrial sample and the section of tumor from the hysterectomy (post-treatment sample). The percentages of tumor that display squamous or mucinous metaplasia will be estimated as percentages, with < 10% considered negative and >= 10% as positive. The number of patients with an improvement in metaplasia were compared between study arms.	Up to 6 weeks
Histologic Response of Eosinophilic Metaplasia	These histologic changes represent measures of growth and apoptosis, and will be separately scored in the pretreatment endometrial sample and the section of tumor from the hysterectomy (post-treatment sample). The number of patients with an improvement in eosinophilic metaplasia were compared between study arms.	Up to 6 weeks
Immunohistochemical Expression of Bcl-2 to Assess Tumor Growth and Apoptosis	Immunohistochemistry stains with antibodies directed against Bcl-2 will be performed on pre- and post-treatment endometrial samples. Samples will be scored on a continuous scale (0-100%) using the product of the intensity of cytoplasmic staining, and the proportion of cells staining based on the distribution of staining. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the percent change in scores from pre-treatment to post-treatment between the 2 study arms.	Pre- and post-treatment up to 6 weeks
Immunohistochemical Expression of Casp3 to Assess Tumor Growth and Apoptosis	Immunohistochemistry stains with antibodies directed against Casp3 to assess apoptosis will be performed on pre- and post-treatment endometrial samples. Samples will be scored by counting the number of positive staining nuclei per HPF. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the percent change in scores from pre-treatment to post-treatment between the 2 study arms.	Pre- and post-treatment up to 6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: City of Hope Medical Center
• Collaborators: National Cancer Institute (NCI)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Thanh H Dellinger, City of Hope Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 21, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 12, 2022
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 27, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 12, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): September 14, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 6, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 31, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Urogenital Neoplasms; Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Female Urogenital Diseases; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Uterine Diseases; Genital Diseases, Female; Genital Neoplasms, Female; Uterine Neoplasms; Endometrial Neoplasms; Endometrial Hyperplasia; Polycyclic Compounds; Pregnadienes; Pregnanes; Steroids; Fused-Ring Compounds; Megestrol; Megestrol Acetate; Pterocarpus marsupium; 3,5-dimethoxy-4'-hydroxystilbene
• Other Study ID Numbers: 17327 (Other Identifier: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center); P30CA033572 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); NCI-2018-01555 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No