Prospective, multicenter, randomized phase II trial of the herbal supplement,
PC-SPES, and diethylstilbestrol in patients with androgen-independent prostate cancer.
Herbal products may even be adulterated with prescription drugs, as recently reported for the Chinese herbal formula
PC-SPES (2).
The product, called
PC-SPES, has since been recalled by its California-based manufacturer, BotanicLab, which has gone out of business.
If you take either of the herbal supplements known as
PC-SPES and SPES, stop their use immediately.
Researchers are more confident that a mixture of seven herbs called
PC-SPES may slow advanced cancer in men who have no other treatments available.
PSA levels in the hormone dependent men fell by more than 80 per cent after taking the supplement, known as
PC-SPES.
Scientists at the University of California found that the supplement, known as
PC-SPES, capsules significantly lower levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), a protein in the blood closely linked to the cancer.
Anecdotal reports have suggested that
PC-SPES, a commercially available combination of eight herbal extracts, lowers prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in men who have received prior treatment but whose PSA levels continue to rise.
Doctors from Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey tested a mixture of eight herbs, sold as
PC-SPES, on men with prostate cancer.
As a result of this, NCCAM is expected to impose stricter standards on products used in research it funds in light of
PC-SPES contamination problems.
Though none are proved effective, products with promise include Botaniclab's
PC-SPES, Boehringer's Prostatonin, Enzymatic Therapy's Super Saw Palmetto and Novogen's Trinovin.
The
PC-SPES capsule - made from eight Chinese herbs - significantly lowers levels of PSA protein in the blood, which is linked to the cancer.
