WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A Wake Forest University study says a drug to treat breast cancer can also treat weight loss of patients receiving radiation for lung, head and neck cancers.
"The drug clearly reduced weight loss and improved quality of life in study patients," said Dr. Michael Farmer, who presented the results to the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology.
The research involved megestrol acetate, a synthetic form of the female hormone progesterone. The drug was originally used as an anti-hormonal treatment for breast cancer and was found to induce weight gain as a side effect.
Later studies showed the drug's effectiveness as an appetite stimulant for patients with HIV, chronic diseases and cancer cachexia, a "wasting syndrome" in which fat and muscle are lost because of the presence of a cancerous tumor.
Weight loss can also be a problem in patients undergoing radiation treatment for lung cancer and cancers of the head and neck, such as cancer in the mouth or throat.
