Abiraterone was Designed to be Absorbed with Food

Abiraterone Acetate (Zytiga) is a new drug for treating advanced prostate cancer. It has been specially formulated as the acetate derivative so that it can be easily absorbed with food. It is important to realise that when given with food a much lower dose of Zytiga is needed. Giving Zytiga at a dose of 4 tablets daily on an empty stomach makes no sense either scientifically or economically. This dose was primarily used for pharmacological studies in clinical trials. Because these are the conditions upon which the clinical results were obtained the recommendation to take 4 tablets on an empty stomach has remained. The truth is that only 5% of Abiraterone Acetate is absorbed on an empty stomach, and 95 % of the drug is excreted. A much higher absorption can be obtained by taking Zytiga shortly after eating. In this way the drug absorption increases 5 fold, so that a single 250 mg tablet has the effect of over 4 tablets on its own. Taking 1 tablet after eating breakfast is a much more sensible approach and is much easier to adhere to. This aspect is currently being tested in clinical trials and it is clear that 1 tablet taken with food is a safe dose to take.