ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07796789Updated Oct 15, 2026

Prophylactic Nanocrystalline Megestrol Acetate Versus Placebo for Chemoradiotherapy-Related Anorexia in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

A Phase 3 interventional study of Nanocrystalline Megestrol Acetate Oral Suspension and Placebo in Nasopharyngeal Cancinoma (NPC), sponsored by Sun Yat-sen University. Recruiting at 3 sites in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-15.

Sponsored by Sun Yat-sen University · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Sep 2026; still recruiting 1 month later.
Updated Oct 15, 2026Site recruiting status changedStart date moved+2 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
204
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Where this study stands

Counted across the records on this site · 2026-11-12

Among 186 studies in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Sun Yat-sen University — 80 open to participants now, 107 under way, 43 of them phase 3. Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma · Sun Yat-sen University.

Planned enrollment
73rd of 161
204 · median 162
Started
2026
with 13 others
Phase 3
58 of 186
26 open now
Primary completion
2027-09
later than 80 of 106 live
Registered
178th of 186
by date

Among the 186 studies in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Sun Yat-sen University, this one is the 73rd largest by planned enrollment of the 161 interventional ones, is one of 14 that started in 2026, is one of 58 in phase 3, reaches primary completion later than 80 of the 106 other live ones, and was the 178th registered.

By phase

186 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.

Phase 272 · 30 open
Phase 3this study58 · 26 open
Observational22 · 9 open
No phase15 · 6 open
Phase 17 · 3 open
Phase 2/36 · 3 open
Other kind3 · 0 open
Phase 1/23 · 3 open

By the year they started

First in 1998; this study’s year is marked. 14 started in 2026.

Size and results

Median enrollment 162 across the 161 interventional studies, 470 across the 25 observational. Of the 28 that completed or were terminated, 1 (4%) have results posted.

Watch this landscapeDownload CSVWith an account: a weekly mail of what changed among 186 studies in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Sun Yat-sen University, or all of them as a file.
02

Study summary

This phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluates whether nanocrystalline megestrol acetate can reduce anorexia in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) undergoing concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). The study aims to confirm the clinical benefits of adding this agent to standard CCRT for improving appetite, quality of life, nutritional status, and survival outcomes.

Read the detailed description

This phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial compares the efficacy and safety of nanocrystalline megestrol acetate versus placebo in prevention and management of anorexia and weight loss associated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Eligible patients with newly diagnosed stage II-III NPC will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either nanocrystalline megestrol acetate (5ml/day) or matching placebo for 11 weeks, in combination with standard CCRT. The study aims to evaluate whether nanocrystalline megestrol acetate can significantly reduce the proportion of patients experiencing clinically significant weight loss (>5% from baseline) at day 28 post-radiotherapy, and to assess its impact on appetite, quality of life, nutritional status, and survival outcomes.

03

Conditions studied

  • Nasopharyngeal Cancinoma (NPC)

Keywords

  • Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
  • Nanocrystalline megestrol acetate
  • Anorexia
  • Weight loss
04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Newly diagnosed, or cytologically confirmed non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma, clinical stage II-III according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 9th edition staging system, and planned to receive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT).
  • No prior radiotherapy to the primary tumor.
  • Induction chemotherapy may be administered at the investigator's discretion according to local guidelines.
  • Aged 18-70 years, male or female.
  • (ECOG) performance status of 0-1.
  • Able to comply with the study procedures and voluntarily provide written .
  • Adequate organ function, defined as follows:

    • Hematologic function: ≥1.5 × 10⁹/L, ≥90 g/L, and count ≥100 × 10⁹/L.
    • Coagulation function: (INR), prothrombin time (PT), or activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ≤1.5 × the (ULN).
    • Hepatic function: (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ≤2.5 × ULN, total ≤2.0 × ULN, and serum albumin ≥30 g/L.
    • Renal function: serum creatinine ≤1.5 × ULN or calculated (CrCl) ≥60 mL/min using the Cockcroft-Gault formula.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior antitumor therapy, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery, other than induction chemotherapy permitted according to the study protocol.
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women.
  • Inability to comply with regular follow-up because of psychological, social, familial, or geographical factors.
  • Concurrent participation in another clinical study involving treatment during the study treatment period.
  • Known allergy to any chemotherapeutic agent that may be used in the study.
  • Severe uncontrolled infection or other serious uncontrolled medical illness.
  • Major organ dysfunction, including decompensated cardiac, pulmonary, renal, or hepatic failure, that would preclude tolerance of chemoradiotherapy.
  • Conditions that may substantially affect drug administration, distribution, metabolism, or excretion, including significant psychiatric disorders, central nervous system disorders, chronic diarrhea, ascites, or pleural effusion.
  • Long-term use of agents following organ transplantation.
  • History of another before enrollment.
  • Conditions affecting gastrointestinal absorption or oral intake, including dysphagia, malabsorption, or uncontrolled vomiting; difficulty with food intake or requirement for enteral or parenteral nutritional support; anorexia nervosa or anorexia related to psychiatric illness; or difficulty eating because of pain.
  • Current or planned use of other medications that may increase appetite or body weight, including systemic (except short-term dexamethasone administered during chemotherapy), androgens, progestogens, thalidomide, olanzapine, anamorelin, or other appetite stimulants.
  • Cushing syndrome, adrenal insufficiency, or pituitary insufficiency; poorly controlled diabetes mellitus; or uncontrolled hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥100 mmHg despite oral antihypertensive therapy.
  • Thromboembolic disease, ascites, or lower-extremity edema within 6 months before the first dose of study treatment; history of esophageal or gastric varices, severe gastrointestinal ulceration, gastrointestinal perforation and/or fistula, gastrointestinal obstruction (including incomplete intestinal obstruction requiring parenteral nutrition), intra-abdominal abscess, or acute gastrointestinal bleeding.
  • Known to any component of the study drug.
  • Any other condition that, in the investigator's judgment, would make the patient unsuitable for participation in the study.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(16)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Histologically or cytologically confirmed

The diagnosis was confirmed by looking at a sample under a microscope: tissue from a biopsy or surgery (histology), or cells from a fluid or needle sample (cytology).

Your pathology report is the document that shows this.

ECOG performance status

A scale of how much an illness limits everyday activity. For people being assessed to join a study, scores run from 0 (fully active) to 4; lower is more active.

0
Fully active, no restrictions.
1
Limited in strenuous activity, but walking and able to do light work, such as housework or office work.
2
Walking and able to look after yourself, but unable to work; up and about more than half of waking hours.
3
Able to look after yourself only in part; in bed or a chair more than half of waking hours.
4
Unable to look after yourself at all; in bed or a chair all day.

Studies most often ask for 0–1 or 0–2. Your doctor gives the score; the WHO scale uses the same steps. The full scale also has 5, which records death.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Absolute neutrophil count (ANC)

The number of neutrophils, white blood cells that help fight infection, in a given amount of blood. Too few raises the risk of infection.

It is a count, not a percentage of the white cells. Limits are written in units that mean the same: ≥ 1.5 × 10⁹/L is ≥ 1,500 per mm³ (µL). Each lab has its own reference range.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

Creatinine clearance (CrCl)

How quickly the kidneys clear creatinine, a waste product, from the blood. A study may estimate it from a blood test with age, weight and sex (often by the Cockcroft–Gault formula), or measure it using blood and urine collected over a set time. Given in mL/min; higher is better.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
204 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Nanocrystalline megestrol acetate group

    Nanocrystalline megestrol acetate + Concurrent chemoradiotherapy

    Drug: Nanocrystalline Megestrol Acetate Oral Suspension

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo group

    Placebo + Concurrent chemoradiotherapy

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugNanocrystalline Megestrol Acetate Oral Suspension

    Nanocrystalline megestrol acetate + Concurrent chemoradiotherapy: Nanocrystalline megestrol acetate oral suspension 625 mg (5ml) once daily orally (Week1-11) + Cisplatin 100mg/m\^2 (Day 1, 22, 43 during radiotherapy).

  • DrugPlacebo

    Placebo + Concurrent chemoradiotherapy: Placebo 5ml once daily orally (Week1-11) + Cisplatin 100mg/m\^2 (Day 1, 22, 43 during radiotherapy).

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Proportion of Patients With >5% Weight Loss From Baseline at Day 28 After Completion of Radiotherapy

    The proportion of patients who experience more than 5% body weight loss compared with baseline body weight, assessed at Day 28 after completion of radiotherapy.

    Time frame: Day 28 after completion of radiotherapy

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change From Baseline in FAACT-A/CS12 Score

    Change from baseline in anorexia/cachexia-related symptoms will be assessed using the Functional Assessment of Anorexia/Cachexia Therapy Anorexia/Cachexia Subscale (FAACT-A/CS12) to week 4, end of radiotherapy, and Day 28 after completion of radiotherapy

    Time frame: 11 weeks

  2. Proportion of Patients With >5% Weight Loss From Baseline at the End of Radiotherapy

    The proportion of patients with a decrease in body weight of more than 5% from baseline body weight at the end of radiotherapy.

    Time frame: 7 weeks

  3. Percent Change in Body Weight From Baseline

    Percentage change in body weight from baseline to the end of radiotherapy and day 28 after completion of radiotherapy will be calculated as \[(body weight at the prespecified assessment - baseline body weight) / baseline body weight\] × 100%.

    Time frame: 11 weeks

  4. Quality of life (QoL)

    assessed using the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Head and Neck Cancer Module (EORTC QLQ-H\&N35), version 1.0. Prespecified symptom scale and item scores will be calculated according to the EORTC scoring manual at baseline, week 4 of radiotherapy, end of radiotherapy, and day 28 after completion of radiotherapy.

    Time frame: 11 weeks

  5. Quality of Life (QoL)

    Assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), version 3.0. Prespecified functional and symptom scale scores will be calculated according to the EORTC scoring manual at baseline, week 4 of radiotherapy, end of radiotherapy, and day 28 after completion of radiotherapy.

    Time frame: 11 weeks

  6. Skeletal Muscle Index at the Third Lumbar Vertebra (L3-SMI)

    Change from baseline to the end of radiotherapy in skeletal muscle index at the third lumbar vertebra (L3-SMI) will be assessed using cross-sectional imaging. L3-SMI will be calculated as the skeletal muscle cross-sectional area at the L3 level normalized to height squared (cm²/m²) .

    Time frame: 7 weeks

  7. Proportion of Patients Receiving a Prespecified Cumulative Dose of Concurrent Cisplatin

    The proportion of patients receiving a cumulative concurrent cisplatin dose of at least 200 mg/m² during radiotherapy and 3 cycles of concurrent cisplatin

    Time frame: 7 weeks

  8. Incidence of Acute Toxicity

    The incidence and severity of acute adverse events will be assessed according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), version 5.0. The incidence of each adverse event will be reported separately.

    Time frame: From the start of treatment to 90 days after completion of radiotherapy

  9. Incidence of Late Radiation Toxicity

    The incidence and severity of late radiation toxicities will be assessed according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (RTOG/EORTC) late radiation morbidity scoring scheme.

    Time frame: 90 days after completion of radiotherapy to 2 years after completion of radiotherapy

Other outcomes

  1. Progression-free survival

    The time from randomization to any documented local or regional relapse, distant metastasis, or death from any cause, whichever occur first.

    Time frame: 2 years

  2. Overall Survival

    Overall survival is defined as the time from randomization to death from any cause.

    Time frame: 2 years

07

Study locations

3 of 3 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Sites
2 sites changed recruiting status (2 now recruiting)
Show 2 sites
  • Hunan Cancer Hospital · Changsha, ChinaNot yet recruiting→Recruiting
  • Fujian Cancer Hospital · Fuzhou, ChinaNot yet recruiting→Recruiting
Oct 15, 2026
Start date
Aug 30, 2026→Sep 29, 2026 (actual)
Oct 15, 2026
Primary completion
Aug 30, 2027→Sep 29, 2027
Oct 15, 2026
Study completion
Aug 30, 2029→Sep 29, 2029
Oct 15, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 15, 2026
    2 sites changed recruiting status (2 now recruiting)
    Show 2 sites
    • Hunan Cancer Hospital · Changsha, ChinaNot yet recruiting→Recruiting
    • Fujian Cancer Hospital · Fuzhou, ChinaNot yet recruiting→Recruiting
    Start date Aug 30, 2026→Sep 29, 2026 (now actual)
    Primary completion Aug 30, 2027→Sep 29, 2027
    Study completion Aug 30, 2029→Sep 29, 2029
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07796789
Responsible party
Hai-Qiang Mai,MD,PhD (Director of the Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-sen University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 1, 2026
Start date
Sep 29, 2026
Primary completion
Sep 29, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 29, 2029 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 15, 2026

Study contacts

Hai-Qiang Mai, PhD, MD
Contact
maihq@sysucc.org.cn
+8602087343643

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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