The anabolic effect of high dose medroxyprogesterone acetate in oncology.

Ten advanced cancer patients not amendable to conventional therapy were treated with high dose (greater than 500 mg/day, for 30 days) Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (MAP) both orally and intramuscularly, in order to evaluate a possible anabolic effect of this hormone. During the treatment, mean protein intake increased from 37.2 gr/day to 58.8 gr/day (p less than 0.01), nitrogen intake from 5.8 to 9.4 gr/day (p less than 0.01) and caloric intake from 1407.9 to 2075 Kcal/day (p less than 0.01). Nitrogen balance also showed a significant increase (p less than 0.05), as well as elementary strength (p less than 0.02). Lean body mass and body weight did not show significant variations. The above data confirms what was already been documented by us in animals and proposed in man-that MAP has an anabolic effect.