Does Taking Food With Medicine Improve the Treatment of Prostate Cancer?

Individuals with prostate cancer may reduce intake of the daily dose of medicine and avoid the side effects by taking the drug with food. Taking Zytiga after a meal may increase its effectiveness, according to a new study, which also suggests that this approach could reduce cancer treatment by 75%.

• Zytiga (Abiraterone acetate) was approved for treatment of metastatic prostate cancer in 2011.
• The drug has to be taken with prednisone to reduce the risk of the side effects that affect the digestive system. Currently, Zytiga is the standard medicine for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
• The drug is recommended at a 1-month dose and costs $8,000 - $11,000, which is very expensive. Most prostate cancer patients take Zytiga for 2 – 3 years, so the costs associated with their treatment amount to hundreds of thousands.
• It is recommended that a patient takes four 250 milligram Zytiga pills after waking up, but they shouldn't eat any food overnight or eat breakfast one hour after taking medicine.
• This schedule is inconvenient and wasteful for patients. Although the drug is effective, it is also expensive. The cost and duration of treatment may influence the clinical decision making.

A further clinical trial was conducted to investigate whether there was a more efficient and less expensive way to use Zytiga. The amount of the drug absorbed into a patient's bloodstream can be multiplied if taken with an appropriate meal. It means that if the drug is taken with a 300-calorie meal, the patient will consume about four to five times the amount of drug as compared to taking it without food. For example, if a patient takes Zytiga with an 825-calorie meal, the absorption can be multiplied by a factor of 10 and lower dose with food is equally as effective.

About Author

Dr. Echt and his team at the Prostate Seed Institute offer the most highly sophisticated methods of radiation therapy available in the United States, equal to that found in major medical center and academic settings. These include prostate seed implantation, high dose radiation implants, and external beam radiation with image-guided and intensity-modulated (IGRT and IMRT) capabilities.

Dr. Echt and his team at the Prostate Seed Institute offer the most highly sophisticated methods of radiation therapy available in the United States, equal to that found in major medical center and academic settings. These include prostate seed impla