SynthesisJournal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle2018
Megestrol acetate for cachexia-anorexia syndrome. A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 4 of them syntheses 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 92 citations in OpenAlex.
- Guideline for Medication Management of Distressing Symptoms in Older Patients Receiving End-of-Life Palliative Care.Journal of evidence-based medicine · 2026Guideline
- Dose-dependent effect of megestrol acetate supplementation in cancer patients with anorexia-cachexia syndrome: A meta-analysis.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Pooled it
- Guideline
- Megestrol acetate for cachexia-anorexia syndrome. A systematic review.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2018Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy and safety evaluation of Buzhongyiqi pills on appetite improvement in patients with colorectal cancer receiving chemotherapy: a pilot randomized cross-over clinical trial.Journal of traditional Chinese medicine = Chung i tsa chih ying wen pan · 2024Trial
- Effects of auricular acupuncture on appetite in patients with advanced cancer: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Annals of palliative medicine · 2020Trial
- The effects of megestrol acetate on nutrition, inflammation and quality of life in elderly haemodialysis patients.International urology and nephrology · 2019Trial
- Practical prescribing in cancer cachexia.Current opinion in supportive and palliative care · 2026Review
- Megestrol acetate in the management of cancer cachexia: a prospective quasi-experimental study focusing on body composition and patient-reported outcomes.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Systematic Exploration of Molecular Mechanisms and Natural Herbal Therapeutic Strategies for Cancer Cachexia.Cancers · 2025Review
- Nutritional Challenges in Older Cancer Patients: A Narrative Review of Assessment Tools and Management Strategies.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Mechanisms and pharmacotherapy of cancer cachexia-associated anorexia.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2025Review
- Review
- Clinical implication of megestrol acetate in metastatic gastric cancer: a big data analysis from Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) database.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2024Article
- Supportive care of female hormones in brain health: what and how?Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Review
- Unlocking Prognostic Genes and Multi-Targeted Therapeutic Bioactives from Herbal Medicines to Combat Cancer-Associated Cachexia: A Transcriptomics and Network Pharmacology Approach.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- What do patients and oncologists think about the evaluation and management of cancer-related anorexia-cachexia? The Quasar_SEOM study.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2023Article
- Article
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Clinical Use of Megestrol Acetate for Cancer-Related Anorexia/Cachexia.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In 1993, megestrol acetate (MA) was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of anorexia, cachexia, or unexplained weight loss in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The mechanism by which MA increases appetite is unknown, and its effectiveness for anorexia and cachexia in neoplastic, elderly, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients is under investigation. This is an updated version of a Cochrane systematic review first published in 2005 and later updated in 2013 entitled 'Megestrol acetate for the treatment of anorexia-cachexia syndrome'. MA vs. placebo: in studies where MA was compared with placebo, the overall results showed that MA patients gained weight (mean difference, MD 2.25 kg, 95% CI [1.19, 3.3]) but did not gain quality of life (QOL) (standarized mean difference, SMD 0.5, 95% CI [-0.13, 1.13]), with more adverse events (relative risk, RR 1.46, 95% CI [1.05, 2.04]), but no difference in deaths (RR 1.26, 95% CI [0.70, 2.27]). MA vs. no treatment: MA patients gained weight (MD 1.45 kg, 95% CI [0.15, 2.75]) but did not gain QOL (standardized mean difference 3.89 95% CI [-14, 6.28]). There was no increase in adverse events (RR 0.90, 95% CI [0.39, 2.08]) or deaths (RR 1.01, 95% CI [0.42, 2.45]). MA vs. active drugs: MA patients gained weight (MD 2.5 kg, 95% CI [0.37, 4.64]) but did not gain QOL (MD 0.20 95% CI [-0.02, 0.43]) and did not report an increase in adverse events (RR 1.05 95% CI [0.95, 1.16]) or in deaths (RR 1.53, 95% CI [1.02, 2.29]) Different doses of MA: in studies where lower doses of MA were compared with higher doses of MA, we did not find differences either in weight gain (MD -0.94 kg, 95% CI [-3.33, 1.45]), QOL (MD 0.31 95% CI [-0.19, 0.81]), or adverse events (RR 1.34, 95% CI [0.65, 2.76]). Thus, we cannot reach a conclusion for an optimal dose of MA.
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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.