Orlistat Plus Progestin for Fertility-Sparing Treatment of Endometrial Cancer or Atypical Hyperplasia

Overview

This is a single-center, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trial evaluating whether adding orlistat to standard progestin therapy can improve treatment response in patients receiving fertility-sparing treatment for early-stage endometrial cancer (grade 1-2) or atypical endometrial hyperplasia. Progestin is the standard drug used to preserve the uterus and fertility in these patients, but about 30% of patients respond poorly because the progesterone receptor (PR) in the endometrium is lost or reduced. Laboratory studies by the research team have shown that orlistat, a widely used oral weight-loss drug that blocks fat absorption, can raise PR levels and restore sensitivity to progestin. The study will enroll 48 patients (age 45 years or younger, body mass index 24 kg/m2 or higher) who still have residual disease and low PR expression after at least 3 months of first-line progestin therapy. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either progestin plus orlistat (experimental group) or progestin alone (control group) for 3 months, followed by 24 months of follow-up. The main goal is to compare the change in PR expression from baseline after 3 months of treatment. The study will also assess how many patients achieve complete disease reversal, time to complete response, recurrence, pregnancy and live-birth rates, safety, and changes in body weight and metabolic measures.

Background and rationale: Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common gynecologic malignancies, and 14% to 25% of cases occur in women of reproductive age, many of whom wish to preserve fertility. Progestin is the first-line agent for fertility-sparing treatment of grade 1-2 endometrioid EC and atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AEH), with reported complete response (CR) rates up to 84%. However, approximately 30% of patients show primary or secondary progestin resistance, and loss or down-regulation of the progesterone receptor (PR) is a key mechanism. Obesity is both an independent risk factor for EC and associated with poor progestin response, while progestin itself commonly causes weight gain, creating a vicious cycle of obesity, reduced efficacy, and further weight gain. Orlistat is an FDA-approved oral gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor widely used for weight management. Beyond weight loss, preclinical studies have shown antitumor activity across several cancer types through inhibition of fatty acid synthase (FASN). The research team previously established a lipid metabolism-FOXA2-PR transcriptional regulatory axis in EC (Liu et al., Oncogene 2025), demonstrating that orlistat stabilizes FOXA2 by inhibiting AKT phosphorylation, thereby up-regulating PR transcription and restoring progestin sensitivity in xenograft models. This trial is the first prospective randomized controlled trial to evaluate orlistat as a transcriptional sensitizer in fertility-sparing treatment of EC/AEH. Study design: This is a single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label, parallel-controlled trial conducted at Peking University People's Hospital. Forty-eight eligible patients with G1-G2 endometrioid EC or AEH who have low PR expression (positive cells 25% or less) and have not achieved CR after at least 3 months of first-line progestin therapy are randomized in a 1:1 ratio to the experimental group (progestin plus oral orlistat 120 mg three times daily) or the control group (progestin alone). High-potency progestin (medroxyprogesterone acetate 250-500 mg/day or megestrol acetate 160-320 mg/day) is individualized by the investigator according to body weight, liver function, and prior dose. Randomization uses a computer-generated sequence (SAS 9.4) concealed in sequentially numbered sealed opaque envelopes. The treatment period is 3 months, followed by 24 months of follow-up. Endometrial biopsy by hysteroscopy is performed every 3 months to evaluate histopathologic response, with paired tissue sampling for translational endpoints (PR, FOXA2, and phospho-FOXA2 immunohistochemistry; bulk RNA sequencing; and peripheral blood lipid metabolomics). The primary endpoint is the relative change in PR expression from baseline at 3 months. A pre-planned interim futility analysis using an O'Brien-Fleming alpha-spending function is performed when 50% of participants are enrolled, overseen by a Data and Safety Monitoring Board.