Abstract: ObjectiveTo observe the effect of megace (MA) on the survival condition of cancer patients in chemotherapy (CT) periods.Methods92 patients with cancer were divided into the MA group (treated with MA+CT) and control group (treated only with CT). The changing of the appetite, normal food amount, weight, gastrointestinal reaction and whole body conditions of two groups were evaluated.ResultsIn the MA group, 52.2% patients had appetite improvement, 47.8% had more food amount, 45.7% gained more weight, 50% had no obvious gastrointestinal reaction such as vomiting and nausea, and 50% had improve the survival condition according to the Karnofsky performance status (KPS) scores (increment >10). In the control group, only 6.5% had appetite improvement, 4.3% had more food amount, 13% gained more weight, 28.3% had no vomiting and nausea, and 15.2% had improved the survival condition. There was a significant difference between two groups (P<0.01).ConclusionMegace is able to reduce nausea and vomiting caused by CT, improve appetite, increase patients weight, protect bone marrow from the inhibition of CT, improve the life quality of cancer patients, and has no evident side-effects.

Key words: megace, tumor, quality of life, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), chemotherapy