Abstract
Abiraterone acetate in combination with prednisone is approved for locally advanced
as well as metastatic (hormone-sensitive and castrate-resistant) prostate cancer,
with overall or disease-free survival gains in suitable patients. Long-term use poses
a significant financial strain on the self-paying patients as well as the national
health insurance schemes. Abiraterone is known to be a drug with a high “food effect”
with increased bioavailability following high fat diet. Some retrospective series
and phase 1 and 2 clinical studies have explored the use of low-dose abiraterone (at
25% of standard dose) with high fat meal with similar bioavailability and biochemical
response to the standard drug dose. We review and report the available literature
for this approach and discuss the financial and scientific implications of the same.
Keywords
prostate cancer - abiraterone acetate - low dose abiraterone - pharmacokinetics -
PSA response
