Drug Class: Antineoplastics, Antiandrogen, Antiandrogens
Drug Description-
Zytiga is a medicine used to treat cancer of the prostate (a gland of the male reproductive system) in adult men when the cancer is metastatic (has spread to other parts of the body).
Zytiga is used together with the medicines prednisone or prednisolone in the following situations:
when the cancer is newly diagnosed, high risk and still sensitive to hormones; Zytiga is then used in combination with a treatment called androgen deprivation therapy;
when medical castration (using medicines to stop the production of male hormones) with an androgen deprivation therapy has not worked or no longer works in men who have either no symptoms or only mild symptoms of the disease, and who do not yet need chemotherapy (cancer medicines);
when medical or surgical castration and chemotherapy containing docetaxel have not worked or no longer work.
Zytiga contains the active substance abiraterone acetate.
Zytiga is available as tablets (250 and 500 mg) and can only be obtained with a prescription.
The recommended dose of Zytiga is 1,000 mg taken once a day at least two hours after eating and at least one hour before further food. If patients develop liver problems treatment should be stopped. Treatment may be resumed at a reduced dose if the liver function returns to normal.
It is not known if Zytiga is safe and effective in children.
Working
The active substance in Zytiga, abiraterone acetate, is changed in the body to abiraterone which stops the body producing testosterone, a male hormone. Abiraterone does this by blocking an enzyme called CYP17 found in the testes and elsewhere in the body. Because the cancer needs a supply of testosterone to survive and grow, by reducing the production of testosterone, Zytiga may slow the growth of the prostate cancer.
What are the possible side effects of Zytiga?
Zytiga may cause serious side effects including:
swelling in your ankles or feet,
pain in your legs,
shortness of breath,
pain or burning when you urinate,
blood in your urine,
fast heartbeats,
headache,
confusion,
lightheadedness,
muscle weakness,
stomach pain (upper right side),
nausea,
vomiting,
dark urine, and
yellowing of the skin or eyes (jaundice)
Get medical help right away, if you have any of the symptoms listed above.
