Good news for those with from prostate cancer. A new study claims that sufferers may be able to decrease their medication and avoid side effects that arise from it. And it all may be as simple as taking the medication with food.
For the study, researchers brought a group of 72 participants with advanced-stage prostate cancer together. Half of them took 1,000 mg of Zytiga – a prescription medication taken with prednisone to treat metastatic prostate cancer.
This half took Zytiga in the form of four pills every morning on an empty stomach. This is the clinical recommendation.
The other half of the participants ate a low-fat breakfast every morning, and took just one 250 mg pill of Zytiga.
Upon reviewing the results, the researchers made a fascinating discovery. The participants who ate a low-fat breakfast and took one pill of Zytiga had comparable outcomes to those who had taken the four-pill dose (today’s clinical recommendation).
It appears that Zytiga was able to control the symptoms of both groups with similar effectiveness.
The researchers made another fascinating discovery. According to Medical News Today:
Both groups reported identical times of progression-free survival: approximately 8.6 months. The researchers also measured the extent to which Zytiga lowered levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is a marker for prostate cancer.
They found that the participants in the low-dose group experienced a slightly greater decrease in levels of PSA than the recommended dose group.
After evaluating the drug’s effectiveness with food, the researchers believe taking one pill of Zytiga with food over time may save each patient approximately $300,000.
However, further tests need to be done before a confirmation of these results can be given. Do not make any changes to your medication (or your consumption of it) without first consulting your doctor.
