Trial reportSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2014
Phase I/II trial of formoterol fumarate combined with megestrol acetate in cachectic patients with advanced malignancy.
Trial report in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02644408 (Megestrol Acetate for the Improvement of Quality of Life in Esophageal Cancer With Chemoradiotherapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Megestrol Acetate for the Improvement of Quality of Life in Esophageal Cancer With Chemoradiotherapy
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Multicomponent Interventions for Adults With Cancer Cachexia: A Systematic Review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Pooled it
- A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of megestrol acetate or dexamethasone in treating symptomatic anorexia in people with advanced cancer.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Adjuvant pharmacological strategies for the musculoskeletal system during long-term space missions.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Role of diet, physical activity and new drugs in the primary management of cancer cachexia in gastrointestinal tumors - a comprehensive review.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Review
- Cancer-triggered systemic disease and therapeutic targets.Holistic integrative oncology · 2024Article
- Cancer-associated cachexia - understanding the tumour macroenvironment and microenvironment to improve management.Nature reviews. Clinical oncology · 2023Review
- Nomegestrol acetate ameliorated adipose atrophy in a rat model of cisplatin‑induced cachexia.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2023Article
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Clinical Use of Megestrol Acetate for Cancer-Related Anorexia/Cachexia.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Evidence for reciprocal network interactions between injured hearts and cancer.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2022Review
- Cancer-Mediated Muscle Cachexia: Etiology and Clinical Management.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2021Review
- Lack of Synergy Between β-Agonist Treatment and a Blockage of Sarcoplasmic Calcium Flow in a Rat Cancer Cachexia Model.OncoTargets and therapy · 2021Article
- Review
- Cross sectional imaging of truncal and quadriceps muscles relates to different functional outcomes in cancer.Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2019Article
- Therapeutic strategies against cancer cachexia.European journal of translational myology · 2019Article
- Muscle Wasting Diseases: Novel Targets and Treatments.Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology · 2019Review
- Modulating Metabolism to Improve Cancer-Induced Muscle Wasting.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2018Review
- Sarcopenia in gastric cancer: when the loss costs too much.Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association · 2017Review
- Cancer-induced muscle wasting: latest findings in prevention and treatment.Therapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2017Review
- Understanding tumor anabolism and patient catabolism in cancer-associated cachexia.American journal of cancer research · 2017Article
- Update on Management of Cancer-Related Cachexia.Current oncology reports · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim of this study was to test the safety, tolerability and efficacy of a novel combination of an anabolic β2-agonist and an appetite stimulant in patients with cancer cachexia.
methodsThirteen patients (M/F 5:8) with advanced malignancy and involuntary weight loss received oral formoterol (80 μg/day) and megestrol acetate (480 mg/day) for up to 8 weeks. Quadriceps size (MRI), quadriceps and hand-grip strength, lower limb extensor power, physical activity and quality of life were measured at baseline and at 8 weeks. Response criteria were specified pre-trial, with a major response defined as an increase in muscle size ≥ 4 % or function ≥ 10 %.
resultsSix patients withdrew before 8 weeks, reflecting the frail, comorbid population. In contrast, six out of seven (86 %) patients completing the course achieved a major response for muscle size and/or function. In the six responders, mean quadriceps volume increased significantly (left 0.99 vs. 1.05 L, p=0.012; right 1.02 vs. 1.06 L, p=0.004). There was a trend towards an increase in quadriceps and handgrip strength (p>0.05). The lack of appetite symptom score declined markedly (76.2 vs. 23.8; p=0.005), indicating improvement. Adverse reactions were few, the commonest being tremor (eight reports), peripheral oedema (three), tachycardia (two) and dyspepsia (two).
conclusionsIn this frail cohort with advanced cancer cachexia, an 8-week course of megestrol and formoterol in combination was safe and well tolerated. Muscle mass and/or function were improved to a clinically significant extent in most patients completing the course. This combination regimen warrants further investigation in larger, randomized trials.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.