Abiraterone is a prescription drug, used along with the prednisone. It is specifically used in order to treat male patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer (prostate cancer that is resistant to medical/surgical treatments that lower testosterone) that has spread to other organs of the body and who have received treatment with docetaxel. It is not recommended to use abiraterone in women/children.
How to take Abiraterone:
Always take abiraterone acetate 250 mg exactly as your healthcare practitioner has instructed you.
The recommended dose is 1,000 mg (2 tablets) once a day, which should be taken by mouth, at least 1 hour prior to or at least 2 hours after eating.
Swallow the abiraterone acetate tablets whole with water, without breaking the tablets. It should be consumed with a drug named prednisone/prednisolone. Take prednisone or prednisolone exactly as your healthcare practitioner has instructed you. You should take prednisone/prednisolone each day while you are taking abiraterone.
Mechanism of Action: Abiraterone specifically acts in order to resist/block the body from producing a hormone named testosterone. It mainly does this process in multiple ways to other sorts of hormone therapy. In maximum males, prostate cancer cells usually can't grow in absence of testosterone, even if they have spread to other organs of the body.
Possible Side Effects:
The most common side effects of abiraterone 250 mg include:
- Irregular heartbeats
- Cough
- Urinary tract infection
- Diarrhea
- Hot flushes
- Joint swelling or pain
- Muscle aches
- Cold like symptoms
- Heartburn
- Vomiting
- High blood pressure
- High blood sugar levels
- Low blood potassium levels
- Urinate more often than normal
- Night urination
Inform your healthcare practitioner in case you've any adverse reactions that bothers you or that does not go away.
Above listed are not all the possible adverse reactions of this drug. In order to know more, ask your healthcare professional.
Warnings and Precautions:
- Discuss with your doctor prior to taking zytiga 250 mg if you have liver problems, high blood pressure, heart failure, low blood potassium, heart or blood vessel problems, shortness of breath, and high blood sugar.
- Inform your healthcare practitioner in case you've heart rhythm problems (arrhythmia), or are being treated with drugs for these conditions.
- Inform your healthcare practitioner in case you've yellowing of the skin or eyes, darkening of the urine, , as these may be signs of liver problems.
- Decrease in the RBC (Red Blood Bells, reduced sex drive (libido), muscle weakness/muscle pain may occur.
- The drug zytiga 250 mg must not be given together with Ra-223 due to a possible increase in the risk of bone fracture/death.
- Abiraterone may be responsible for affecting your liver. When you're consuming it, your healthcare team will check your blood periodically in order to look for any reactions on your liver.
- The abiraterone 250 mg is not for use in children/adolescents. In case it is accidentally ingested by a child/adolescent, talk to your doctor.
Drug Interactions: There are some other drugs that are responsible in order to affect the removal of abiraterone acetate from the body, that can affect the mechanism of abiraterone. These drugs may include rifamycins (such as rifabutin), medicines that are used in order to treat the seizures (such as primidone, carbamazepine, phenytoin, phenobarbital), St. John's wort, among others.
Drug Overdose: In case you consume more than you should, talk to your healthcare team or head to a hospital immediately.
Missed Dose: In case you forget or missed to consume abiraterone acetate 250 mg tablets or prednisone/prednisolone, consume your usual drug dose the following day.
In case you missed/forgot to consume this drug or prednisone/prednisolone for more than a single day, discuss with your healthcare practitioner without any delay.
Abiraterone Price: The abiraterone price may vary from branded to non-branded (generic) drugs. Price for a bottle of 120 tablets of Zytiga 250mg is around 1,50,000.
FAQ's
What you should know about prostate cancer?
This is the most commonly occurred cancer in American males, following skin cancer. In case you or any of your loved one is diagnosed with this cancer, one of the major things you can do is educate yourself regarding disease as well as existing treatment options.
What is prostate cancer?
This cancer usually occurs in a man’s prostate, the walnut-size gland in the reproductive system of male patients. It exists just below the bladder in front of rectum and surrounds the upper part of the urethra. The prostate helps in order to regulate bladder control as well as produces seminal fluid that nourishes and helps in transporting the sperm.
What causes prostate cancer?
It is unspecified what is specifically responsible for causing the prostate cancer, but there are numerous risk factors for this cancer, including age.
What are the potential adverse reactions of the treatment of prostate cancer?
There are certain possible risks and potential adverse reactions with any sort of prostate cancer treatment. They include sexual dysfunction, incontinence, hair loss, urinary issues, nausea, fatigue and hot flashes. Other adverse reactions, such as lymphedema, are also possible, on behalf of the type of treatment. Certain of these could be for a shorter period of time, while others could be for long term.
NOTE: The information provided in this article is only for informational purposes and is not served as a substitute for the medical treatment, consultation, diagnosis, of a qualified healthcare practitioner.
