Abiraterone for prostate cancer: what to know

It is generally used as part of a wider treatment plan and is commonly paired with a corticosteroid. The exact schedule and combination depend on the cancer setting, other medicines, and the person's health.

Prostate cancer cells can use androgens, including testosterone, as growth signals. Abiraterone blocks an enzyme involved in making these hormones in the testes, adrenal glands, and tumour tissue. It may be used even when another form of hormone therapy has already lowered testosterone.

Blocking this pathway can alter potassium levels, fluid balance, blood pressure, and liver function. A prescribed corticosteroid helps manage hormone changes caused by treatment. Do not stop either medicine or change the dose without instructions from the oncology team.

Take abiraterone exactly as the prescription label directs, including its instructions about food. Tell the care team about prescription medicines, supplements, and herbal products because interactions may change treatment effects. If a dose is missed or vomiting occurs after a dose, follow the clinic's written advice rather than taking an extra tablet.

Attend planned blood tests and blood-pressure checks. Report ankle swelling, new shortness of breath, muscle weakness, cramps, unusual tiredness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, or dark urine promptly. These can signal changes that need assessment, medicine adjustment, or supportive care.

Get urgent medical help for chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, fainting, a very fast or irregular heartbeat, sudden confusion, or severe weakness. Contact the oncology team promptly for rapidly increasing swelling, marked dizziness, or signs of liver trouble. Keep taking prescribed medicines unless a clinician treating the urgent problem tells you otherwise.

Ask what the treatment aims to achieve in your situation, which other hormone treatment continues alongside it, how food affects your tablets, and which monitoring visits are planned. Also ask whom to contact after hours, which side effects warrant a same-day call, and whether any current medicine or supplement needs changing.