Fountain Valley : Cancer Patients Sought for Study of New Drug

A Fountain Valley oncologist is seeking cancer patients for a study on whether a new drug can improve appetite and weight gain.

Weight loss, which is common among cancer patients, causes muscle wasting, malnutrition, weakness and a general feeling of malaise, said oncologist N. Simon Tchekmedyian, the study’s principal investigator.

As a result, patients with advanced cancer become more vulnerable to infections and are often too weak to undergo anti-cancer treatments, Tchekmedyian said.

But in a study last year at the University of Maryland, Tchekmedyian put 28 patients on high doses of Megace, or megestrol acetate. He found that 27 of them made weight gains averaging 11 pounds and some put on as much as 40 pounds.

Tchekmedyian is studying the drug’s effect on patients with other types of cancer besides breast tumors, particularly those with hormonally insensitive tumors. Patients with breast, endometrial, ovarian or prostate cancer cannot be included, he said.

Half of the patients to be studied will receive Megace tablets, and the others will be given a placebo. But patients who receive the placebo and do not gain weight will receive Megace midway through the study “to avoid any further wasting,” Tchekmedyian said.

The drug is provided to patients at no cost and any cancer patient interested in the study may participate. For information, call 751-2600.